Mystery surrounds Coventry mosque abandoned for more than 20 years.

Permission for the £2 million project was given in 2005.

More than 20 years after receiving planning clearance, the Edgwick Family and Education Centre at the intersection of Foleshill Road and Blackwell Road remains unfinished. Neighbours describe the abandoned building as an eyesore.

The £2 million project, which was originally envisaged as a three-story mosque and community hub with prayer halls, classrooms, stores, offices, and facilities for all ages, has been blocked. What remains today is a windowless masonry structure surrounded by metal fencing.

Mr Tariq Mahmud purchased the land from Coventry City Council for £60,000. Permission to construct the community-focused facility was initially granted in 2005.

Residents had opposed, claiming that the proposed three-story building was too huge and would exacerbate parking problems. By 2013, Mr Mahmud had only six months to finish the project.

However, months slipped into years, and the project has not developed. CoventryLive contacted Cllrs Abdul Salam Khan, Tariq Khan, and Shakila Nazir several times for an update on the proposal, but received no response.

CoventryLive discovered planning documents that revealed the project’s original intentions. It was initially meant to offer Muslims a variety of educational, training, recreational, social, and leisure activities.

Mr Mahmud also intended to establish Sunday schools for young people to learn the Qur’an, English, and Urdu. He also wanted to provide advocacy and advising support through training programs to assist persons in developing skills and gaining employment opportunities.

Work began to detoxify the ground from toxins left by a battery business that once stood on the property decades ago. The brickwork was completed, but there was no more progress.

According to initial intentions, the facility would serve the Pakistani and Kashmiri communities in Foleshill.

What was meant to serve the neighbourhood is now abandoned, a single brick structure enclosed by metal fencing and coated in green netting.

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