Questions From The Floor
At our meeting on the 30/01/2020 (held at the Hamptons) , we opened the floor to questions from the public. As promised we have forwarded these questions to the Chelmsford Muslim Society, and hope they will respond. Any responses will be published fully and unedited here, and on our social media pages.
The questions are :-
1.0 REMOVAL OF ALCOHOL LICENSE
1.1 Precisely when does the CMS plan to remove the sale of alcohol? Taking into account the CMS statement, subsequent emails/social media comments and the open letter, the intentions are confusing.
1.2 Consumption of alcohol is an integral part of British culture. If Hamptons is to be run on a commercial basis, as indicated in the CMS statement, why cease the sale of alcohol at the bars which is a primary source of income? There are plenty of Muslim-run restaurants all over the Chelmsford and the UK that serve alcohol. In fact a key member of the Muslim community in Chelmsford runs a famous restaurant in London and serves alcohol.
1.3 The CMS statement states that existing bookings for events are being honoured, will the availability of bar facilities selling alcohol to those events also be honoured?
1.4 Membership Fees – social members of Hamptons pay £20 per month for membership and enjoy access to the bars. Will those membership fees be reduced when the sale of alcohol ceases? Will members who paid their fees annually get a refund?
2.0 EXISTING AND FUTURE BOOKINGS
2.1 CMS stated on Facebook that the Buddhist Society will not be able to continue to hire space in line with their current arrangement. This statement was made well before any direct communication with the Buddist Society themselves. Has CMS communicated with any other society or club that, prior to the change of ownership used the space?
2.2 The CMS open letter states rooms will be available to hire “on an hourly basis”. Currently many groups use the spaces on a regular weekly or recurring booking, and would not be suited to booking “week by week”. Will the CMS be continuing all recurring bookings?
2.3 There has been no mention in the CMS statement, open letter or on social media with respect to Dance groups – of which there are many at the centre. Dancing is classed as “Health and Fitness”, and has proved to be one of the best forms of exercise to reduce the risk of Alzheimers dementia. The sprung dance floor in the main hall at Hamptons is one of the largest in Essex. Will all existing Dance groups be able to continue to use the centre, and with recurring bookings where they currently are?
2.4 Will Hamptons accept bookings for atheist and/or LGBTQ events?
3.0 ISLAMIC CULTURE
3.1 We would like some assurances that users of Hamptons will be able to dress according to the dress codes and sports dress codes of the United Kingdom. For example, squash tennis players in typical sports wear (showing naked flesh). In response to this question raised on Facebook, Ayman Syed on social media replied “the worshippers would simply look away”. Can we have assurances that there will be no dress code policy that deviates from the current accepted standard.
4.0 EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE IN AND AROUND BADDOW
4.1 We already have gridlock in Chelmsford, made worse by the Army and Navy that currently has no solution. With up to 1000 people quoted as using the centre, the extra vehicles will have a detrimental effect on our village. How does the CMS propose to manage the extra volume of traffic?
4.2 How does the CMS propose to provide sufficient parking whilst not infringing or impeding private parking bays and the parking needs of the immediate local residents? The residents have already been suffering for many years with the parking demands for Hamptons. The CMS are implying all existing events will continue, so additional visitors now for worshipping will be on top of this.
4.3 How will the CMS ensure there is always sufficient access for emergency vehicles to use Tydemans?