Energy Quote Threatens Green Lane Masjid

News

A Birmingham mosque warned it could be forced to partially close after it was told its energy bills could quadruple from £60,000 to £250,000-a-year. Managers of Green Lane Masjid and Community Centre said they would have to cut a host of welfare services and shut the doors for part of the day in a bid to keep costs as low as possible.

The alert came after the site received an eye-watering £250,000 quote for gas, electricity and water through a broker. The mosque, a 30,000 square foot Grade II-listed building, is currently open from 5am to 10pm daily and sees around 300 worshippers at prayer time and around 4,000 at Friday prayers.

 

In addition to religious services, it runs vital domestic violence services, coffee mornings, a food bank, educational, after-school madrassas for children and homeless projects.

Centre manager, Saleem Ahmed, said: “It’s really worrying. We had a quote a few weeks ago through a broker who deals with suppliers and it was about £250,000. The broker said it was the cheapest they could get.

“It’s potentially devastating because, as a charity, we rely on donations from the congregation to fund our activities. We also apply for grants to fund our welfare and domestic violence projects.

“We knew it was going to go up but we didn’t know it would be by that much. It’s not looking good. The first thing we will do is find an alternative quote by going directly to the supplier. Secondly, we are looking at all the ways we can conserve energy by turning the lights and air conditioning units off.

“We are considering partially closing. We are mainly open for prayer times and this could have an impact on our education and welfare services.”

The centre’s Winter Freeze Project, where homeless people are invited to sleep and shelter as temperatures drop, could also be under threat.

Source: Birmingham Mail