PLANS for a new £2 million mosque in York have been taken back to the drawing board.

The York Mosque and Islamic Centre revealed proposals for replacing its current building in Bull Lane earlier this year, saying it had become too small to accommodate the hundreds of people who regularly attend its main prayer times.

A planning application for the new mosque was submitted to City of York Council in July, but the scheme has now been withdrawn due to “technical issues”, although the agents for the project say they hope to revive it once the snags are addressed.

The design for the building, which was to be constructed on the same site as the existing mosque off Lawrence Street – now more than 25 years old – included two minarets either side of a central dome, as well as a prayer hall, classroom, library and community hall. No calls to prayer or amplified sound would have come from the new mosque.

However, North Yorkshire Police subsequently raised concerns over the proposals and the “high risk factor” connected with the building, saying it could attract “unwanted attention” from yobs because of its appearance and insufficient security and crime prevention measures had been included its design.

The Environment Agency also objected to the proposals, which included a three-storey accommodation block, because part of the Bull Lane site stands within a higher-risk flood zone. The organisation said the development was “not compatible” with this zone and could be vulnerable to flooding.

The scheme was opposed by the operators of the nearby Raylor Centre in James Street, who said they were concerned about noise and traffic problems, but drew support from the Guildhall planning panel and local councillors, while York Civic Trust said the design would be “acceptable”.

Dean Woodward, of planning agents Design Studio-North, said: “There are some technical issues which have come up during the application period.

“The application has to be determined within a certain timeframe, and we will not be able to resolve these issues, of which flooding is one, within that time. These matters are now under review and the intention is to resubmit the application at a future date.”

More than 1,300 people joined a Facebook page calling for the mosque plans to be refused, but almost 850 signed up to another page on the social networking site supporting the application.

A decision on the scheme was originally set to be made this month.