A religious school for up to 200 students is to be built on a car park after one councillor said it is not their "cup of tea".

The Hadhrat Shaykh Muhammad Zakariyya Foundation applied for planning permission for the site on Dinsdale Drive.

The religious school for up 200 students is to be built using two temporary teaching blocks. There would be more than a dozen classrooms including two classrooms for children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) across the two temporary teaching blocks as well as a state-of-the-art Sports Hub.

The site on Dinsdale Drive was a car park but it is out of use for more than 20 years and it is a hotspot for anti-social behaviour and criminal behaviour according to the Hadhrat Shaykh Muhammad Zakariyya Foundation.

Planning Agent Claire Parker told the Planning Committee: "The site is undeveloped for several decades. It was used as a car park and it is an eyesore which attracts anti-social behaviour and criminal behaviour. 

"There is a clear benefit in developing it for an appropriate use."

(Image: Hadhrat Shaykh Muhammad Zakariyya Foundation) The Planning Committee approved the application although one councillor said it is not their "cup of tea" and one councillor said there should be a crossing for the children in the area around the religious school.

The council's children's services were supportive of the application as were a number of the residents of Rumworth Ward.

David Wilkinson, a councillor for Westhoughton South, said: "I would not like to be in this thing for a few hours every day. 

"I worked in some lousy locations but if I were a child in there with next to no window space it would not be my cup of tea."

David Grant, a councillor for Horwich South, said: "There have been three children who have been run over in the past few weeks crossing roads in Horwich.

"Is there any way we can assure there is a crossing for the children?"

For information about The Hadhrat Shaykh Muhammad Zakariyya Foundation go to hsmzf.org.

This article was written by Jack Tooth. To contact him, email jack.tooth@newsquest.co.uk or follow @JTRTooth on Twitter.