you officer what you telling me from everywhere [Applause] cousin Christ is King Christ is King Christ is King the Church of England will consider bringing legal action against the charity if it ignores the Covenant and goes ahead with the Moss conversion the telegraph [Applause] reported just days ago a council had granted a Muslim charity planning permission to convert St John's Church in Hanley Stoke on Trent into a place of Islamic worship they're now turning into mosques these premises of the CH old churches are quite suitable because they're designed for religious purposes and education so it's
easy to convert them or to make the use of the facility for the similar purpose the ex- church had been Maring controversy in July when social media footage emerged appearing to show stacks of gravestones some of them damaged piled up by the site as it underwent essential Works which it disputed online though the site had at first been turned into a cafe and Antique Center it was then sold to the zamir Foundation which won permission from Stoke on Trent city council to turn it into a mosque on August 15th in the aftermath of the planning
success numerous locals contacted their local authority to have their say on on the plans some 34 people wrote in support of the conversion with 28 objecting the charity had planned to install a Museum multifaith library and women's only gym inside the building but now the Church of England has said no the co blocked the development by using a legal Clause prohibiting the church from being used for any kind of non-Christian worship or restriction in place since its 2009 sale by the dases of Lichfield a spokesman for the body said the church Commissioners are aware that
planning permission has been granted for changes to St John's Hanley we support former church is being used for Community purposes but a restrictive covenant prohibits the use of the building as a place of worship other than as a church and the Commissioners have explained this to the owner while zabi zamir a spokesman from the zamir Foundation had previously hailed the planning permissions awarding as a positive step towards enhancing community services and fostering inclusivity while the C has clamped down on religious conversions in its churches sites across the country have raised eyebrows as dases have found
alternative uses for their sites a number of former places of Anglican worship have seen conversion to nightclubs like St Andrew's Church in Bournemouth and the now Chapel nightclub in Salisbury while St Marks in Newcastle and St Benedict's in West Gorton Manchester have been transformed into climbing walls the Church of England has inter to stop a disused grade I listed Church from being turned into a mosque an Islamic charity W planning permission earlier this month to convert the Georgian Church of St John's in Hanley Staffordshire into a Muslim place of worship however the church of England
has blocked the development using a legal Clause that prevents the building from being used for worship by any religion other than Christianity the restrictive covenant was placed on the church when the dases of Lichfield sold it into 2009 built in 1788 it had been out of use since the 1980s owing to concerns for its structural Integrity the church initially became a cafe and Antique Center before being sold on to the zamir Foundation which won permission from Stoke on Trent city council to turn into a mosque on August 15th the charity also plann to install a
Museum multifaith library and women's only gym inside the building but the Church of England has declined a spokesman for the church Commissioners which manages the Anglican Church's Investments and assets said the owners had been informed that it would not permit the change the church Commissioners is aware that planning permission has been granted for changes to St John's Hanley the spokesman said we support former churches being used for Community purposes but a restrictive covenant prohibits the use of the building as a place of worship other than as a church and the Commissioners has explained explain this
to the owner building Works had already started at the church before planning permission was granted a bulldozzer had leveled and cleared the grounds for a car park and internal partition walls and washing facilities were installed before being removed at the council's request because permission had not yet been granted zabi zamir a spokesman for the zamir Foundation had previously hailed the granting of planning permission as a positive step towards enhancing community services and fostering inclusivity the Church of England will consider bringing legal action against the charity if it ignores the Covenant and goes ahead with the
MOs conversion the telegraph understands other uses for former churches include climbing walls such as St Marks in Newcastle and St Benedicts in West Gorton Manchester other churches have been converted into nightclubs including the grade I I listed St Andrews in Bournemouth and salisbury's Chapel nightclub which was built in the 19th century as a Pentecostal Church Church the Chapel of the former claybury asylum in Woodford North London is now a swimming pool in SAA while Nottingham's grade I I listed High pavement Chapel was converted into a bar in 1998 the zamir foundation and Stoke on Trent
city council were approached for comment
