£200,000 bill for policing protests over Scout hut in Thurnby Lodge, Leicester

Police have spent £200,000 supervising protests against plans to turn a disused Scout hut into a community centre. The cost of the operation in Thurnby Lodge, Leicester, is rising daily as discussions continue to resolve the building's future.

Officers from city stations and as far afield as Hinckley and Coalville have had to be redeployed from their normal duties to oversee regular protests – occasionally lasting late into the night – against a plan by the Muslim group As-Salaam Trust to convert the Nursery Road building into a community centre.

The protests, which began early last month, have taken place outside the nearby community centre in Thurncourt Road, where members of As-Salaam have been meeting for the past two-and-a-half years.

Leicester Mercury, 10 September 2012

For previous coverage see here, here and here.

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