A new Hindu temple with sports, social areas, classrooms, and a youth club has been visited by Oldham West & Royton MP Jim McMahon.

The MP visited Shree Swaminarayan Mandir on Copster Hill Road as part of a week-long grand opening event.

The temple’s entrance features gates hand-carved from marble imported from India, with the community raising £7 million for its creation.

Members of affiliated temples travelled from Cardiff, Bolton, and London each weekend to help with the build.

Jim McMahon MP said, “I had the pleasure and the honour of being invited to one of the many events taking place as part of the Grand Opening of the Shree Swaminarayan Mandir on Copster Hill Road this week.

“This temple will be a fantastic facility, not just for the Hindu community here in Oldham, but for the wider community locally with its sports hall, classrooms and soon to be a café it has the foundations to become a real hub for the community.

“The attention to detail in every single aspect of this building is phenomenal, best shown by the hand-carved marble gates that adorn the front.”

Speaking ahead of the opening, the president of the Shree Swaminarayan Mandir group, Hitesh Bhudia, said: “The temple is funded by donations, including much of the materials which we received from local businesses and the help of local contractors.

“Its creation was delayed by Covid, but the help of the community allowed us to keep the costs to a minimum.

“When you consider that the Lee Street site was bought for £6,000 in 1977 this has been a massive undertaking.”