Latest news with #RushmoorCouncil
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Labour-run council U-turns on Christian street preacher ban
A Labour-run council has about-turned on its attempts to ban Christian street preachers in a victory for free speech. Rushmoor borough council, in Hampshire, sought an injunction in February that would have prohibited Christians preaching, praying and handing out leaflets in the town centres of Farnborough and Aldershot. The local authority claimed preachers were being 'offensive' and caused 'alarm and distress' to passers-by. But it has now withdrawn its application for an injunction after being accused of attempting to 'criminalise' Christians because the maximum sentence for breaching an injunction is two years' imprisonment. Jamie Broadey, a preacher and evangelist, said it was 'highly concerning' that the council had attempted to acquire the injunction in the first place. 'We welcome the news that the council has withdrawn its application, but it is highly concerning that they made this attempt to criminalise the Christian faith in the first instance,' he said. 'When I first read the injunction I thought: 'They must have made a mistake.' I felt complete disbelief that it was saying that you can't have religious discussions, you can't pray or sing, and people have to come to you, you can't go to them and share the gospel which Christians have done freely in this country for centuries.' Under the terms of the drafted injunction, Christians would have been banned from praying for anyone 'without their prior permission', offering leaflets or Bibles by hand and laying hands on anyone in prayer even if they consented. Other proposed prohibitions included approaching people to discuss Christianity and the preaching of any sermons that were 'hostile towards anyone with the protected characteristic of age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation'. Sally McGuinness, a cleaner and street preacher, said the council had attempted to 'criminalise' her. 'If this had not been challenged and stopped in its tracks now, we have no doubts that the Christian faith would be criminalised in Aldershot and Farnborough,' she said. 'This would have been terrible for Christian freedoms and freedom in general in this country. We are still awaiting an apology from the council and assurances that nothing like this will ever happen again.' The council's about-turn came after local Conservative councillors Gareth Lyon and Ade Adeola took up the preachers' case. The council organised meetings with local ministers and preachers where the Christians' objections were heard. In a statement, the council said it had discussed introducing a 'voluntary code of conduct' for street preachers to limit 'distress' caused to passers-by. The preachers maintain that being seen as 'hostile' is unavoidable when attempting to convince non-believers of the truth of Christianity. Cllr Lyon, leader of the Tory group on the council, said: 'I am delighted by the decision to withdraw the application for an injunction. It is absolutely the right decision.' Cllr Gareth Williams, the leader of the council, added that he was 'pleased' to address a 'very sensitive issue'. 'I'm pleased that, following our discussions with the local Christian community and faith leaders, we have been able to address this very sensitive issue and agree a way forward that balances the rights to freedom of worship and expression with the interests of all town centre users,' he said. Bishop Malcolm Cummins, a Pentecostal minister and chairman of the Rushmoor Faith Leaders Forum, said: 'We're relieved that our discussions with the council have proved constructive. We now look forward to working closely together to build even stronger relationships.' Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, which supported the street preachers, added: 'We urge Christians to remain vigilant and prayerful, and to continue supporting efforts to ensure that the public square remains open to the gospel and to the free exchange of ideas.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Labour-run council U-turns on Christian street preacher ban
A Labour-run council has about-turned on its attempts to ban Christian street preachers in a victory for free speech. Rushmoor borough council, in Hampshire, sought an injunction in February that would have prohibited Christians preaching, praying and handing out leaflets in the town centres of Farnborough and Aldershot. The local authority claimed preachers were being 'offensive' and caused 'alarm and distress' to passers-by. But it has now withdrawn its application for an injunction after being accused of attempting to 'criminalise' Christians because the maximum sentence for breaching an injunction is two years' imprisonment. Jamie Broadey, a preacher and evangelist, said it was 'highly concerning' that the council had attempted to acquire the injunction in the first place. 'We welcome the news that the council has withdrawn its application, but it is highly concerning that they made this attempt to criminalise the Christian faith in the first instance,' he said. 'When I first read the injunction I thought: 'They must have made a mistake.' I felt complete disbelief that it was saying that you can't have religious discussions, you can't pray or sing, and people have to come to you, you can't go to them and share the gospel which Christians have done freely in this country for centuries.' Under the terms of the drafted injunction, Christians would have been banned from praying for anyone 'without their prior permission', offering leaflets or Bibles by hand and laying hands on anyone in prayer even if they consented. Other proposed prohibitions included approaching people to discuss Christianity and the preaching of any sermons that were 'hostile towards anyone with the protected characteristic of age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation'. Sally McGuinness, a cleaner and street preacher, said the council had attempted to 'criminalise' her. 'If this had not been challenged and stopped in its tracks now, we have no doubts that the Christian faith would be criminalised in Aldershot and Farnborough,' she said. 'This would have been terrible for Christian freedoms and freedom in general in this country. We are still awaiting an apology from the council and assurances that nothing like this will ever happen again.' The council's about-turn came after local Conservative councillors Gareth Lyon and Ade Adeola took up the preachers' case. The council organised meetings with local ministers and preachers where the Christians' objections were heard. In a statement, the council said it had discussed introducing a 'voluntary code of conduct' for street preachers to limit 'distress' caused to passers-by. The preachers maintain that being seen as 'hostile' is unavoidable when attempting to convince non-believers of the truth of Christianity. Cllr Lyon, leader of the Tory group on the council, said: 'I am delighted by the decision to withdraw the application for an injunction. It is absolutely the right decision.' Cllr Gareth Williams, the leader of the council, added that he was 'pleased' to address a 'very sensitive issue'. 'I'm pleased that, following our discussions with the local Christian community and faith leaders, we have been able to address this very sensitive issue and agree a way forward that balances the rights to freedom of worship and expression with the interests of all town centre users,' he said. Bishop Malcolm Cummins, a Pentecostal minister and chairman of the Rushmoor Faith Leaders Forum, said: 'We're relieved that our discussions with the council have proved constructive. We now look forward to working closely together to build even stronger relationships.' Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, which supported the street preachers, added: 'We urge Christians to remain vigilant and prayerful, and to continue supporting efforts to ensure that the public square remains open to the gospel and to the free exchange of ideas.'
BBC News
03-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Christian 'shock' at Rushmoor Borough Council street preacher ban
Christians have expressed their "shock" at a local authorities plans to ban street Broadey, an evangelist from Aldershot, says society is tentative to speak about "spiritual health".He has reacted to Rushmoor councils proposed injunction to restrict the behaviour of persons preaching within the town centres of Aldershot and council has said it does not in any way want to prevent freedom of speech. Mr Broadey said this kind of limiting of expression leads to "a weaker society".He said he believes Christians are treated differently to other religions."If this kind of thing was happening against the Muslims, the Muslims would be screaming Islamophobia," he Broadey added there is no equivalent word for this kind of restriction to added that Christians are prepared "to take punches" but "sometimes Christians take too many punches for too long". The council displayed notifications of the application on lampposts across the initial paperwork sent to the court, and shared with the BBC, showed that the council aims to tackle hostile and nuisance behaviour but made clear that defendants would be still be allowed to place written material on a stand or on the floor for others to take with documents showed at least 16 separate complaints reported by local businesses, residents and market stallholders between October 2023 and November claim form said the activities of preachers, who it described as males and females from different backgrounds, "have caused harassment, alarm, distress, and a public nuisance, especially with respect to use of a loud speaker and aggressively approaching members of the public".Among the claims are complaints that the preachers have made "homophobic and disablist comments", laid hands on children without parental permission and claimed "members of the public have 'evil spirit' within them". A Rushmoor Council spokesperson said: "The council began this action in response to a significant number of complaints from residents and businesses about the behaviour of some street preachers in Farnborough and Aldershot town centres over nearly two years."The council would like to emphasise that we understand the sensitive nature of this issue and the legal action is not intended to prevent peaceful groups of any faith, including Christianity, from preaching, or in any way prevent freedom of speech."The council applied to adjourn the hearing to allow it further time to consult with faith and community leaders. Mr Broadey said: "If you oppose street preaching anyway, which a lot of people do, you can easily find accusations to throw at Christians and you can weaponise the council's complaints system."On the accusations that some of the street preaching could be deemed offensive, he said: "If you're going to find the truth it is necessary to ask hard questions, it is necessary to make hard points."He added: "If you have a society of censorship, maybe people wont be offended but also people wont find the truth."He admitted that he understands that some people will not agree with his "truth" and said he is open to listening to alternative views. You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
BBC News
21-02-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Farnborough leisure centre plan given green light
Plans for a new leisure centre have been given the green light by central Borough Council was previously awarded £20m of Levelling Up funding for a planned leisure centre in Farnborough, but was unsure whether this money could still be used after the scheme had to be at the start of February ministers gave permission, and councillors voted to adopt the new scheme on 11 Williams, leader of Rushmoor Council, said the leisure centre was an "absolute priority" and would help improve health in the borough. "We know from the conversations we have had with residents that a new leisure centre is an absolute priority and that they want their children to learn to swim and keep active," he said."We also need to improve opportunities for all residents to keep fit, and that is what we are delivering."The leisure centre is set to include a 25m (82ft) swimming pool, a learner pool, a gym, three fitness studios, a toddler play area, a cafe, and a wellness hub to help people less mobile to do low-impact leisure centre would be built on the current Queensmead surface car park, with the existing leisure centre site handed over for new homes."This is a much-needed facility for the town," said Mr Williams."Our aim is to put in for planning permission in the autumn, after we've consulted with residents, and then we plan to start building early next year." You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
