A counter petition against a mosque in Wokingham town centre is based on fake news, despite attracting more than 1,300 signatures in a week.
Last week, Wokingham Today reported how the Wokingham Islamic Centre was seeking support from Wokingham borough council for its support for the establishment of a mosque in Wokingham.
The authors claimed victory and withdrew their petition after meeting with council executives who gave their support for the idea.
Now, a counter petition has been launched, suggesting a planning application is in place, with supporters citing traffic and parking problems as part of their objections.
No such planning application in Wokingham, or elsewhere in the borough, and the borough council would have to treat any future application in the same way as any other application that is submitted..
Views from people in the borough would be taken into account at that time as part of a consultation – as happens with any planning application.
The Change.org petition does not show whether those responding are in the borough, and in order for a petition to be debated at a future council meeting, a petition must include at least 1,500 names, addresses and contact details of people within the borough.
Wokingham Today has attempted to contact the author of the petition for comment but with no response. It appears he is associated with a newly-created social media profile, and that a person with that name does not currently appear on the electoral roll in the borough.
Councillor Stephen Conway, leader of Wokingham borough council, told Wokingham Today he is aware of the petition, which he said is based on “false information.”
