A MOSQUE planned for a Teesside town could be built elsewhere following residents' protests.

Planning permission was expected to be granted yesterday for a new place of worship, on the corner of Westbourne Street and Bowesfield Lane, in Stockton, to replace the mosque on Hartington Road.

But at a heated public meeting at Stockton Library yesterday afternoon, the decision was deferred while an alternative site was sought for a possible land swap agreement.

The decision came after nearby homeowners complained about the potential for traffic congestion at the site and the effects the building work would have on the area.

Councillor Mick Stoker, who chaired the meeting, admitted that the land-swap process is "a little bit complicated".

"The owner of one piece of land would swap with the owner of the other. If the council is the owner of the land, then we could do a land swap.

"In the case of the mosque, if it was somewhere close in that area, there's no reason why there could not be a land swap. It might be a possibility."

Coun Stoker added that if an alternative site was found, the proposal would go to another public meeting, in three weeks' time. If an alternative was not found, they would be "back to square one".

Arguments and heckling at the meeting occasionally threatened to divide the town's Muslim community and local residents.

Al-Samarraie, design consultant for the proposed new mosque - which is set to include a library - said: "This mosque could be not only for Muslims, but also for kids and the disabled.

"We hope to provide facilities for the local community - they don't have to be Muslims. We'd provide books and the Internet."

But one member of the public said: "How will it benefit the 99 per cent of non-Muslims in the area? We are told we can use the library, but I do not wish to read the Quran and I do not like the Internet. I can read the Bible."

She added that the new mosque would lead to parking problems if it was built in the proposed area of town.

The next meeting on the future of the mosque takes place at Stockton Library on Wednesday, April 27.