Council Pushes Hoorat Sanad Events Hall

TDT | Manama

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The Southern Municipal Council has refused to drop a plan to replace a Hoorat Sanad park with an events hall, despite the Housing Ministry saying the area already has too few parks.

The proposal, put forward by councillor Mohammed Al Darraj, concerns the park near Khalid bin Al Waleed Mosque in Block 645. He wants the land used for a multipurpose hall for weddings and other family events.

The Housing and Urban Planning Ministry rejected the proposed change after studying the site and nearby homes.

It said the park lies within the Hoorat Sanad housing project and that the surrounding area does not have enough parks for residents.

The ministry said converting the site into an events hall would therefore go against the planning needs of the area.

The council has kept its recommendation and is asking for the proposal to be reconsidered.

Mr Al Darraj said residents had repeatedly asked for a hall close to their homes because they now have to hire venues elsewhere, bringing extra expense and longer journeys.

‘Hoorat Sanad is densely populated, yet there are no suitable halls nearby for social occasions,’ he said.

He said the area already had several parks and walking tracks and argued that the Block 645 site could be used for a hall serving local families.

A hall in the area would give residents somewhere nearby to hold weddings and family events and cut the extra costs linked to hiring venues farther away, he said.

Mr Al Darraj said the proposal was not intended to leave residents short of recreational space. He argued that the site could instead meet a long-standing local demand for an events hall.

The ministry maintained that the park was needed because of the shortage of green space around the housing project, while the council stood by its call for the land to be reassigned.