PLANS to build a small mosque in Chipping Norton have been approved by councillors.

West Oxfordshire District Council’s uplands area planning subcommittee approved the change of use application for a former shop in Hitchmans Mews, off West Street, today.

Residents and Chipping Norton Town Council had raised concerns about additional noise and parking and the loss of retail space.

The 2011 Census recorded there were 34 Muslims in Chipping Norton, of a population of 6,337.