HELPING HEARTS AWARDS SCHEME DONATES £1,000 TO GURDWARA SAHIB SIKH TEMPLE LEAMINGTON AND WARWICK  GARDEN PROJECT

The Heart of England Co-operative Society has handed a cheque for £1,000 to the Gurdwara Sahib (Sikh Temple) in Royal Leamington Spa.

The money will be used towards the next phase of the development of the £11 million Gurdwara Sahib, in Tachbrook Park Drive.

The donation has come from the Society’s Helping Hearts Awards scheme which since its launch in 2000 has pledged more than £500,000 towards community projects across its trading area of Coventry, Warwickshire, south Leicestershire and Northamptonshire.

The Gurdwara Sahib opened its doors in October last year. Facilities inside the building include prayer halls, meeting rooms, classrooms and a fully equipped kitchen.

The donation from the Heart of England Co-operative Society will be used towards a planned garden area for the Gurdwara Sahib. Covering a three-acre site, the gardens will include prayer areas, fountains, green spaces and trees.

The cheque was presented to Jagtar Singh Gill, General Secretary of the Gurdwara Sahib, by Ali Kurji, Chief Executive of the Heart of England Co-operative Society.

Mr Kurji said: “Last year the Heart of England Co-operative Society opened its first dedicated Asian Funeral Home and this has been very well received by the Asian community across our trading area.

“As part of this we have forged strong links with the Sikh community in Leamington so when we learned of the plans for these wonderful gardens to go hand in hand with this magnificent Gurdwara Sahib we were only too delighted to get involved.”

Mr Gill added: “The Gurdwara Sahib has been very well received since we started welcoming people through the doors in October and the garden project will only serve to further enhance the site.