A final decision as to whether an old bank can be turned into a mosque could be announced next month.

Sutton Council has previously twice refused planning permission for the site in Green Lane, Worcester Park, citing traffic concerns.

In a Sutton Guardian poll conducted online last month, of the 169 respondents, 82 per cent of people said they do not want a mosque, 12 per cent said they do, and 6 per cent said they did not know.

Hugh Byrne, chairman of the Worcester Park Residents Association said: “We have got a main road on one side of the site and a thoroughfare on the other.

“There is no parking.

“The only worse place to put it would be in a roundabout in the middle of the A3.”

Applicants want to convert the site into a place of worship, replace a garage door with a window, and provide cycle facilities.

The process began in December 2012, and applicants have since reduced the proposed capacity of the building from 145 people to 95 people.

The announcement that a final decision will be made in January came at a hearing at Maple Lodge in Green Lane, Worcester Park, on Friday, December 12.

A spokesman for Sutton Council said: “It is everyone’s right to appeal a decision.

“We believe we have managed a robust planning process.”