Grandmaster monk Shifu Shi Yan Zi at the entrance to the temple

A TOWN Hall plan to rehouse a rare spiritual temple has been branded “sacrilege” by the community who use it.

Instantly recognisable by its red gates, the Shaolin Temple in Junction Road, Tufnell Park, has been consecrated and is the only centre of its kind in the UK. Those practising at the Shaolin school of Buddhism combine martial arts with Ch’an philosophy.

But according to the council’s Draft Local Plan, which sets out a range of policies that will determine the outcome of future planning applications in the borough, the temple site has been earmarked for a new use.

Islington is required by law to find sites for the Gypsy and Traveller community to live on. Alongside the temple, two other sites in ­Junction Road and Ronalds Road, Highbury, have also been identified as potential spots for the community.

The land is owned by Transport for London but it has said it will work with Islington ­Council to transform the site.

“The existing community use will need to be re-provided within the local area,” the plan reads.

Shaolin Temple manager Baris Geyik said the campaign to save the Temple had nothing to do with “anti-Traveller sentiment.”

The Buddha Hall

He said: “We’re very keen to make it known we’re not in any way against Gypsies and Travellers to find a site – it’s just this is not the right site.”

Mr Geyik said he feels the council has failed to recognise the cultural significance of the site. “They talk about us as a martial arts school. They’re framing it like a Kung Fu school. But no it isn’t: this is a temple,” he said.

“From our perspective it was a shock… we felt genuinely disrespected. They wouldn’t do this to a mosque, synagogue or church. This is consecrated ground, you can’t just move that. It’s irreplaceable.”

Two walls are also painted with sacred murals. “We have an amazing mural, and the council are trying to claim they can move it brick by brick – that’s utter rubbish,” Mr Geyik said.

The temple is made up of a medicine hall, Buddhist prayer and meditation rooms, as well as Kung Fu training halls. Hundreds of people have passed through its doors over the years.

The Chan Hall, with a sacred mural

Set up in 1998 by Grandmaster Shifu Shi Yan Zi, only two monks have ever been officially sent from China to set up Shaolin centres, Mr Geyik said, “one to America, one to the UK.

“The UK [emissary] decided to set up his headquarter branch in Islington. And now [the council] is saying that we’re nobody. They wouldn’t do this to any other religious organisation.”

The organisation is now collecting signatures as part of a petition to save the temple.

Grandmaster monk Shifu Shi Yan Zi, who established the temple in the 1990s, said “Islington should be proud” to have links to the Shaolin monastery.

“We could be the heart of Islington.

“It takes a long time to build a spiritual place up – you can’t ask the Abbott to come and bless you again. We believe a soul is here, and a lot of stories are here as well.”

Shaolin Temple manager Baris Geyik

An Islington Council spokesperson said: “The council’s Local Plan is an important document which, when agreed with the government, allows the council to hold developers to a high standard in the borough, including the requirement for 50 per cent genuinely affordable homes.

“The council is currently consulting on proposed modifications to its Local Plan, which includes proposals that three sites, including Shaolin Temple UK, are allocated to provide up to seven pitches for local families belonging to the Gypsy and Traveller Community, as required by the Local Plan inspector.

“We are aware that Shaolin Temple UK serves an important community and religious function, and are committed to working with them to identify a new site that is at least an equivalent standard and is as close as possible to the current site.

“The identification of such a site would need to take place before the premises can be redeveloped into a Gypsy and Traveller site.”