Stockton community gathers for mosque's dome arrival

The £2.2m mosque has been built in Bowefield Lane, Stockton, with money raised from the local community and the Muslim community across the UK.

The structure, the largest of three domes on the mosque, was built in Leeds and was transported to the North-East in sections and reassembled.

A 28-tonne crane was used to lower it into place, in a process that took more than an hour.

Members of the community gather to watch the dome being lowered into place at the mosque in Stockton

Local councillor Mohammed Jarved has been involved in the fundraising campaign and said the mosque had been welcomed by all the community, not just Muslims.

He said: “At the planning stage there were some objections, with people worried about noise and traffic and so on, and we had some meetings with residents from time to time about it.

“But, once we started building, we got really nice comments and messages from people saying it’s a lovely building.

“Just the other day, as I was picking up my newspaper, a woman came up to me with a pound coin saying, ‘Hello councillor, this is for the new mosque,’ which was really nice, so it all seems quite positive.”

It is the first purpose-built mosque created on Teesside, but another £1m is needed for the interior work. It is hoped the mosque will open next year.

The regular congregation at the mosque is about 700 to 800 people.

A service to thank local people and everyone who has helped is planned for next month.