Bath's only Hindu Temple to be demolished to make way for new schools

Bath's Hindu community could face a "painful" period without somewhere dedicated to worship as their temple is to be demolished by the council.

The city’s Shree Jagannatha Temple opened in part of the former Culverhay School in 2021, a temporary location until a permanent temple could be built.

Now Bath and North East Somerset Council is planning to demolish the school buildings on the site so that the Department for Education can build two new schools for Bath.

Paul Roper, the council’s cabinet member for economic and cultural sustainable development, said the council would engage with the temple over the plans.

He said: “We realise the sensitivities of it but the need for educational use is a strong one.”

Most of the school buildings will be demolished in early 2025 but Mr Roper said the building containing the Hindu Temple would be retained until July 2025, to meet their requirements to move at certain times.

He said: “We are not just kicking them out.”

The council expects that not all of the former school site will be needed for the new schools, and part of it could be used for housing or alternative community uses.

Mr Roper said it was possible the Hindu Temple could move into part of this area, but it was yet to be determined.

Founding member Susmita Rajhansha said: "This is, for us, a home, because every day we come here, sitting together, praying together, eating together, as a whole community. This is our first home."

Meanwhile, Ashish Rajhansha of the Hindu Temple said it would take at least six months to build a temporary site for the temple could move into.

He warned that the temple may have to close for a period if a new location could not be found in time.

“It will be very painful for us if we don’t find somewhere very quickly. We always knew we had to move out at some point but the amount of time is not good enough,” he said.

As well as being the only Hindu Temple in the city of Bath, it is the only temple dedicated to Lord Shree Jagannatha in Europe.

Mr Rajhansha said: “People come from all around the world to visit the temple.”

Lord Jagannatha is celebrated each year in the Rath Yatra — or Chariot Festival — where idols of Lord Jagannatha, his sister Subhadra and elder brother Balbhadra, are paraded through the streets on a decorated chariot.

Credit: John Wimperis, Local Democracy Reporting Service.