Future of Bharat Hindu Samaj Mandir in UK in doubt as Peterborough council plans site sale

A council plan to sell the site of Peterborough’s only Hindu temple has sparked widespread concern and opposition from the British Hindu community, who say the move threatens to uproot a key spiritual and cultural hub serving more than 13,000 people across eastern England. The issue has now been raised before the Mayor by MP Bob Blackman.

The Bharat Hindu Samaj Mandir, founded in 1986 in the New England Complex of Peterborough, has for nearly four decades been at the heart of community life for Hindus from Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, and Lincolnshire. Owned by the Peterborough City Council, the complex is now being placed for open sale as part of the authority’s programme to reduce public debt through asset liquidation, as per a report by the BBC.

On Wednesday, the issue drew political attention in Westminster after Insight UK, an organisation representing British Hindu and British Indian communities, said that “The Honorable Bob Blackman, Member of Parliament for Harrow East and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for British Hindus highlights the issue of the sale of Peterborough Mandir and the impact to over 13,000 Hindus in the area to Mayor Paul Bristow.”

As chair of the Hindu APPG and a vocal advocate for religious freedom and multicultural inclusion, Blackman reportedly told Bristow that losing the Mandir would “deeply affect thousands of families and undermine one of Peterborough’s most positive community spaces.” Mayor Bristow has been urged to mediate between the temple trustees and the council to find a solution that recognises the Mandir’s cultural and social importance.

The temple trustees, who have long sought to secure the property’s future, had reportedly offered between £800,000 and £1.3 million to purchase the site. However, they were later informed that the council would auction the building to the highest bidder. The decision has left the Hindu community “feeling devastated,” said temple president Kishore Ladwa, who said the council’s move had “really upset lots of our members,” as per a report by the BBC.

For the community, the temple is more than a place of worship. It hosts religious festivals, after-school clubs, cultural education sessions, health programmes, and even soup kitchens for the underprivileged.

“It is the heart of our community. And to take our heart away is very unjust,” said Mina Tank, who helps run the temple’s lunch club that feeds about 60 people each session.

Ekta Patel, the temple’s vice-president, said it had been “a very emotional time,” the BBC report mentioned. “It’s like a carpet pulled off our feet,” she said, recalling that members were informed of the sale plan during last month’s Navratri celebrations. “Our festival was overshadowed by these worries.”

Another devotee, Ashish Pathak, originally from Mumbai, said the Mandir “has served as a welcoming safe space” for immigrant families. “We feel betrayed,” he said. “For us it is a home. It is a place where we can be ourselves… We cannot imagine losing this.”

Peterborough City Council has maintained that “no decisions have been made yet.” Mohammed Jamil, cabinet member for finance, told the BBC that the Bharat Hindu Samaj is “a crucial part of our city,” adding, “We regret that this is an unsettling time for the Bharat Hindu Samaj and we are doing all we can to support them through this process.”

Community leaders are now calling on the council to reconsider the sale and explore an alternative arrangement that secures the Mandir’s future as a shared cultural landmark — one they say embodies the city’s spirit of inclusion and multicultural unity.

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