The Urban Planning councillor, Juan de la Rosa, has withdrawn the item regarding the building licence from the Urban Planning Commission to study the objections presented by Vox. The party led by Santiago Abascal celebrates the precautionary suspension of the Islamic macrocentre.
The City Council of Seville has temporarily suspended the building licence for the Islamic macrocentre that was about to be constructed in the city. The decision was made following the objections presented by Vox, which have raised doubts about the legality of the project.
The Urban Planning councillor, Juan de la Rosa, explained that the licence item has been withdrawn from the agenda of the Urban Planning Commission to request technical and legal reports. "Only when we have those reports on the table will we decide whether or not to consider the matter," he stated.
"Withdrawing an item from the agenda for further study is nothing new: it has been done before with other files and simply responds to doing things with all legal guarantees," De la Rosa added. The commission meets every Tuesday and usually discusses between 100 and 120 items.
The battle of Vox against the mosque
The party of Santiago Abascal has expressed its "satisfaction" with the suspension. "We have finally managed to suspend the mosque project. The commission and, therefore, the city government, has been sensitive to our arguments," they stated in a press release.
Vox insists that "a battle has been won, but not the war" and announces that it will continue to stand "shoulder to shoulder with the neighbours" against a project they consider "obscurantist." "We will never allow the Islamisation of our neighbourhoods," they warn.
The party has asked the mayor to open a participatory process so that residents "can have all the information about a mosque they do not want."
The Mosque Foundation criticises the decision
For its part, the Mosque Foundation, the driving force behind the project, has lamented the City Council's decision and has described it as an "administrative anomaly." The foundation defends that the Islamic macrocentre meets all legal and urban planning requirements.
The project, valued at 10 million euros, includes a medical centre prioritising the Muslim community, which has generated controversy in the neighbourhood. Residents have complained about the lack of information and the size of the building.
While the objections are being resolved, the licence remains suspended and the future of the Islamic macrocentre hangs in the balance. The people of Seville, especially those living in the area, will have to wait for the City Council to issue the technical and legal reports to know the outcome.
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