Swindon's Sikh community will soon have a place to meet and worship after councillors moved plans to build a temple in Gorse Hill a step forward.

At a meeting of the council's planning committee last night, they decided to grant permission subject to a number of conditions on issues such as traffic and disabled access.

An agreement must now be worked out between the council, ward members and the Sikh community, before final planning permission can be granted.

This is expected to be completed by the end of the week. The progress has delighted members of the Sikh community who have been planning and fundraising for more than a decade.

"This temple will be a focal point for the Sikh community," said spokesman Dr Harbans Popli. "We should not be looking at the temple as a building. It is a fundamental human right to have a place to worship."

At the moment, the only religious centre for Sikhs in Swindon is a temple in Old Town which is not big enough for the 300 families who use it as it has just two car parking spaces.

The new temple, which will be built in Kembrey Street on the site of the area's former leisure gardens, will incorporate a community centre with more than 70 car parking spaces. This would mean that as well as serving as a centre for religious purposes, the building would also offer social activities such as language classes and groups for pensioners.

It will be paid for through the fundraising efforts of the Sikh community itself which, after failing in four lottery bids, collected £1 million mainly from donations and a bank loan.

Councillors said they were also very pleased the project looked to be finally going ahead.

"I applaud this. I congratulate the Sikh community on finally being able to fund the temple and look forward to an invitation to the opening ceremony," said Coun Maurice Fanning (Lab) who represents the Gorse Hill and Pinehurst ward.