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Search the Public Notice PortalPlans to turn a Grade II listed Watford church building into a mosque have been refused.
The borough council has given the thumbs down to an application that would have seen the vacant Leavesden Road Baptist Church converted into a Muslim place of worship.
A report published yesterday (January 27) reads: "The proposals would cause substantial harm to the significance of the listed building, as they would destroy, remove, subdivide, or obscure almost the entirety of its carefully designed and well-preserved interior.
"In addition, proposed exterior alterations are excessive and inappropriate. The substantial harm has not been demonstrated as being necessary to achieve substantial public benefits."
Plans were submitted in November for the building - which has not been in use as a church since 2021 - to become a mosque and community centre, part of which would have involved a nursery.
Later that month, applicant Shabaz Khaliq, who operates CageFit Gyms in Greycaine Road, told the Watford Observer that he wanted to bring the site back into active use to serve the community.
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He said: "We recognise that many church buildings across the country have fallen out of use.
“Rather than allow this one to stand empty, our goal is to reinvigorate it as a space for service, care, and community connection.
“The centre will remain open to people of all faiths and backgrounds.”
While not operated as a church in more than four years, Mr Khaliq has been using the church since January 2024 for youth clubs, elderly circles, a library supporting literacy among children with English as an additional language, health sessions, and workshops.
It is unclear if these services will continue to operate following refusal of the mosque plan.
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There were 13 public objections lodged during the consultation period.
Next Tuesday (February 3) will see the council's development management committee vote on a separate but similar plan for a church elsewhere in Watford to become a mosque.
It would see the former St Thomas' United Reform Church in Langley Road become a mosque called Masjid Al-Ummah in the summer, with the plans also including it being used as a community space and nursery.
It has been unused since its closure in 2015.
