By Jonathon Hill,Local Democracy Reporter,Twm Owen

Copyright walesonline

Councillors in Monmouthshire have threatened legal action over a decision to turn a former library into a mosque. Two Conservative county councillors and one independent member, alongside a local resident, are considering a judicial review over the decision to lease Abergavenny library to the Monmouthshire Muslim Community Association who plan to transform the 120-year-old Grade II-listed building into a community centre and mosque. Councillors Louise Brown, Rachel Buckler, and independent Simon Howarth, together with resident John Hardwick, have enlisted support from the Christian Legal Centre after approaching advocacy organisation Christian Concern. The charity revealed the four have formally informed Monmouthshire County Council of their intention to pursue a judicial review unless the authority cancels the 30-year lease agreement and establishes what it describes as “a new, transparent tender process”. For the biggest stories in Wales first, sign up to our daily newsletter A statement released by Christian Concern outlined concerns regarding the £6,000 annual lease which were addressed when a council committee examined the “call-in” the trio had demanded following the Labour-controlled cabinet’s decision to approve the lease. Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said: “This case raises serious questions about transparency, fairness, and the proper use of public assets. The people of Abergavenny deserve to be heard and their concerns must not be brushed aside. We will stand with these councillors as they urge the council to be democratically accountable and to abide by the rule of law.” The statement revealed that the only issue raised in the pre-action letter, which signals their intent to pursue a legal challenge, that wasn’t considered during the call-in review are “concerns over religious impartiality”. Cllr Brown, who represents Shirenewton near Chepstow, said: “Council taxpayers need to know that the council is adhering to its values of openness, transparency, and fairness in its use of limited council resources and not operating in a hidden unaccountable secretive way.” Devauden member Cllr Buckler told the Local Democracy Reporting Service she and her colleagues were dissatisfied with how concerns were addressed during the call-in which included part of a meeting being held in a confidential session. Cllr Buckler described the Christian Legal Centre as a “very good organisation” and “resourced” and said it “makes sense to collaborate with them” but claimed the challenge isn’t a religious issue. She said: “This is not about Christianity – it is about fairness and a transparent process. “Our whole point is no organisation should be treated with any more favour than any other. It is not about a Christian agenda – it’s about the fact a lease was awarded, as far as we can see, for a peppercorn rent for 30 years for an incredibly important civic building that was given to the people by the Carnegie Trust in 1905.” Reverend Gareth Wilde, a retired Baptist minister and Labour councillor on Abergavenny Town Council, who backed granting the lease to the Muslim Community Association at the county council’s call-in meeting in June, said he found it “surprising” that a body claiming to champion Christians was supporting the challenge. He said: “It seems more like a governance or spending issue. It does seem a little bit muddled.” Rev Wilde, speaking personally, said he had presented the historical and Christian case for approving the lease when he addressed the committee. He said: “The bottom line is Abergavenny has got a rich history of non-conformism dating right back to the 17th century when Christians in Abergavenny fought peacefully for religious freedom. That’s Baptists, Congregationalists, Quaker, or other chapels. My feeling is the Monmouthshire Muslim Community Association are only asking to be treated the same.” Rev Wilde also expressed his belief that the Muslim association should be given priority as they currently lack a dedicated place of worship and have to rent the Catholic church hall. “I preach in a number of churches locally and I’ve not heard any negative views from anybody in those churches or chapels,” Rev Wilde added. The decision about the lease was sent back to the cabinet by the call-in committee but the cabinet stood by its original decision to award the lease to the community association which will also be responsible for repairs and maintenance. Ben Callard, the cabinet member responsible, described it as a “huge commitment” that made the lease unattractive to businesses. The committee was informed that no planning permission was required as places of worship and libraries fall under the same use class. The tender process, which ran for four weeks in December 2024, was defended as having prompted several competitive bids. The council stated there was no need for an independent valuation as the authority had the capacity to do so itself. In the lead-up to the call-in meeting the former library was vandalised with anti-Muslim messages and “No Masjid” sprayed on one of its walls along with crosses beside the doors and the word “no”. “Masjid” is Arabic for place of worship or mosque. The library, which was constructed for £4,000 and funded by the Carnegie Foundation established by Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, shut its doors in 2015 when the service was moved to the town hall. Christian Concern has given the council until Friday, September 19, to respond to their letter before any formal legal proceedings commence. A spokesman for the county council said: “Monmouthshire County Council confirms that it has received a pre-action protocol letter and will respond in due course. The council cannot provide further comment in relation to an ongoing legal matter.” Get daily breaking news updates on your phone by joining our WhatsApp community here . We occasionally treat members to special offers, promotions and ads from us and our partners. See our Privacy Notice .