A Hindu temple in Coventry has had planning permission approved for an ambitious renovation project which is set to benefit the whole community.

Shree Krishna Temple on Harnall Lane West in Coventry has revealed the development project that will see its premises have a complete facelift.

Plans will see domes added to the roof and sculptures from India brought over, as well as another floor added, in the hope that it will better serve the local area.

See the gallery below for photos of work beginning

Shree Krishna Temple starts building work View gallery

Shree Krishna Temple is a thriving community hub already, and organisers have expressed the positive impact of such a development on the local area.

The developments will see the already grand structure set to get even more impressive, with organisers saying it will "transform Coventry's skyline."

The current site was officially opened on July 5 1992 and has expanded to host a range of community activities.

A spokesperson for the planning committee talked us through the history: "In 1968 the whole Hindu Gujarati community of Coventry shared a small temple on Stoney Stanton Road. After a few years, the council wished to create a park in that place.

"Our community was offered a new place to build our temple. We accepted that offer and in 1986 we carried out a grand Bhumi Pujan. The First Foundation Stone of our temple was set in 1988. On the 5th of July 1992 we had an opening ceremony of our new temple.

"Now it is high time to renew our beloved temple."

Community activities held at Shree Krishna Temple

Like many religious buildings across the city, the temple doubles as a community hub which puts on a variety of events.

The spokesperson added: "We are planning to run religious activities, cultural classes, physical activities, language classes, music classes and activities for the elderly.

"Coventry will become the City of Culture in 2021. We live in a historically significant city where our faith, our culture and our community are free to express ourselves. For this reason, amongst others, it is important that we build our beautiful temple.

"We want to provide a better community facility especially to support the youngsters. We plan to provide support for young people's education, those who are studying for their GCSE's and exams."

And the environment has also been taken into consideration, with all approved plans being environmentally friendly.



What is Hinduism?

Hindusim is more than 4,000 years old, making it one of the world's oldest religions.

Central to Hinduism is the belief in a supreme God - Brahman. Brahman is said to be present everywhere and there is a part of Brahman in everyone.

Hindus worship in a temple called a mandir. Mandirs vary in size from small village shrines to large buildings, surrounded by walls.

Watch: The faces of Coventry's Hindu Community

WHAT DOES HINDUISM LOOK LIKE IN COVENTRY?

Hindus believe that life is a cycle of birth, death and rebirth. They also believe what happens in the next life depends on how the previous life was lived.

This idea is known as karma.

According to the Office of National Statistics, Christianity is the largest religion in the UK at 59.3%.

Islam comes in at 4.8% of the population, Hinduism at 1.5%, Sikhism at 0.8% and Judaism at 0.5%

Where has the funding come from?

All of the funding for these renovations have been raised directly from within the community and organisers estimate the the final costs will total £2m once they are finished.

The spokesperson added: "This is going to be a complete facelift, we're really going all guns blazing to support the community.

"The works will change the temple completely, it is going to be attractive and prominent and pretty iconic.

"Gujarati people are very peaceful people and so many of them are involved with the local community. Some own businesses too which has helped with funding.

"We also couldn't have done this without the support of Coventry City Council either."

The planned works are going to take around two years.

Coventry will be gearing up to celebrate Diwali in the coming weeks, be sure to check out our guide below for events happening around the city.

Organisers held a ceremony to inaugurate the start of the building works.

It was a great chance to see the domes and sculptures that have come from India. They have said that everyone is welcome to pop down and see the progress of the project.

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