THE tiny villages of East Worldham and Kingsley are preparing for what is to be the biggest-ever gathering of Muslim people in Britain. An estimated 30,000 Ahmadi Muslims are expected to flock to Oaklands Farm, on the B3004 Alton-to-Bordon road, for a three-day convention that will deliver a message of hope and point the way forward for Muslims to be part of an inclusive British society. The convention will take place from next Friday to Sunday, and convention goers will occupy a temporary village of marquees, set in 210 acres of East Hampshire countryside. It will be a far cry from last year's venue at Rushmoor Arena, Aldershot, which the convention is said to have outgrown. Some local people are worried about the volume of traffic expected to use the A3, A31, A325 and B3004 to access the convention. Kingsley will bear the brunt of the traffic, with most vehicles being directed along the A325 to turn into the village at the Sleaford crossroads. According to the traffic plan, worked out between the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association UK (AMA) and the police, some 4,500 cars are expected to travel to and from Oaklands Farm at any one time during the peak morning and evening periods on Friday (11 am to 2 pm and 6 pm to 10 pm), with an additional 5,000 a time during peak periods (from 8-30 am to 11 am and 6 pm to 10 pm) on Saturday and Sunday. Seeking to reassure those who attended last Thursday's meeting of East Worldham Parish Council, Wpc Karen McManus, who worked on the traffic plan, said there would be AA signs directing traffic to the site and contingency plans in place if the routes had to be changed. In the main, cars are to be sent along the A325, while coaches will continue along the A31 to Alton and then through the Mill Lane industrial estate to join the B3004, to approach the farm from the opposite direction. Coaches are to turn into the main farm area to use hardstanding in front of the house, and cars will be funnelled onto the main field. Wpc McManus said she had learnt from working at Rushmoor Arena that the best way to avoid jams was to get the cars off the road as quickly as possible and then to direct them to parking spaces on the field, and there was plenty of space to do that. There will be officials on the gate and traffic lights in operation during peak times. The police are expected to have a strong working presence, with motorcyclists out on the routes able to report back if any problems arise. Alton Police inspector Simon Dodds told the meeting: "We will be monitoring the situation and if there is a problem we will address it - the whole idea is to keep the traffic flowing." The police were happy that emergency vehicles would be able to get through and arrangements had been made for anyone requiring home care. The rush-hour times have prompted Kingsley Parish Council to warn villagers to avoid travelling during those hours. Chairman Colin Neville said: "Naturally traffic is the concern for us in Kingsley, but it won't be a total disaster if residents get organised. If we look at it as a huge movement of traffic heading west in the morning and east in the evening, we can make our arrangements around them and use other exit points from the village if need be. "The festival is a fait accompli. It has been agreed to by East Hampshire District Council and we have to work with them to keep disruption to a minimum. "This could have been a rock concert and we could not have stopped it. But this way we will have peaceful, intelligent people passing through the village who do not want to cause any disruption. "We live in a very beautiful part of Hampshire and if we have to share it with a festival for one weekend a year then I'm sure we can cope with that." The 40th annual Ahmadiyya Muslim Convention will start on Friday with the raising of the Union Jack, when delegates will be urged to be good neighbours, support local charities, participate in local and regional political forums, engage positively with the media and be model citizens. Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the Supreme Head for the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim community, will address the convention, along with speakers from different faiths and communities, and politicians. The convention will seek to reinforce the view that true Islamic beliefs and values are strongly opposed to extremism, terrorism and sectarianism. It will send a clear message that interculturalism is the basis for community cohesion in Britain, and that Muslims must mix and share cultural experiences with others in the country. Mr Rafiq Hayat, national president for the AMA, said: "We openly defy perpetrators of hate, and want to ensure that our young will not be led towards extremism and sectarianism. "The convention will present the kind of Muslim leadership required to nurture our current and future generations."
