A South Woodford mosque wants to build an additional two storeys housing a community hall and four flats.

The South Woodford Muslim Community Centre in Mulberry Way hosted a meeting for residents on Saturday to explain its plans.

Council leader Keith Prince and deputy leader Ian Bond attended the meeting where residents were shown images of the development.

Qaiser Malik, secretary of the Qur’ani Murkuz Trust which oversees the centre said: “We have been very open about our plans because we want to make sure that we take on board all concerns and criticisms before we submit an application.

“The income from the flats would allow us to become more self sufficient while the new hall would benefit the whole community.”

The mosque was given permission to triple its capacity from 70 to 250 worshippers in 2011.

It leases parking spaces underneath the nearby viaduct from the council at a cost of £15,000 a year.

But that has not stopped some residents from complaining about parking problems during busy prayer times.

Mulberry Way and nearby Primrose Road are both in a CPZ but pressure on spaces means that some residents still struggle to find a parking spot.

Mr Malik said that the planned flats (two one bedroom and two two bedroom) would be rented out on the understanding that any tenants would not be allowed to join the permit scheme.

He said: “The centre is very close to the station so there is no need for the people living there to have cars.

“But in our application we will make it clear that these are non-parking flats.”

MulberryWay resident Benjamin Muneton, 68, said: “I don’t care what they say - you mark my words within one or two years the people in those flats will get parking permits.”

Fellow resident Barbara Robertson, 56, said she was worried about the scale of the plans.

She said: “I think it’s a bad idea to expand because it will inevitably increase the number of people coming to the mosque and put more pressure on parking.

“With more space they will have the scope to hold larger events. Extra floors will equate to more people.

“The existing building looks out of place as it is and building upwards on it will only make it more of an eyesore.”

But Mr Malik said: “The layout of the upper floors sets them back pulling away the mass of the building on Mulberry Way.

“The existing building was a derelict eyesore abused by drug users at the time we acquired it.

“We have been constantly improving it ever since and believe the new structure will be a positive addition to the area.”

He added that there were no plans to expand the number of worshippers beyond the current limit of 250.

And he said that if it was allowed to build a new hall the centre would be able to host more community events.

No date has yet been agreed for the submission of a planning application.