Plan to turn Grade II-listed pub that survived the Blitz into a mosque is scrapped after more than 800 objections

Controversial plans to convert a Grade II-listed pub that survived the Blitz in World War Two into a mosque have been scrapped, after it faced more than 800 objections from residents and local groups. On Tuesday, the Norwich Muslim Centre announced they were backtracking on their proposal to renovate The Gatehouse, in Norwich, which dates back to 1934 and is a protected 'asset of community value'. They blamed 'dominant objectors' and believed Norwich City Council's planning team were ready to refuse their plans anyway. The plans had been at the centre of a fierce row in the city, with the Muslim Centre arguing the historic pub 'only had three regulars' anyway, and locals pointing out there was another mosque just half a mile away already. A letter submitted to Norwich City Council by the Muslim Centre's planners, Brown & Co, read: 'We've just had a meeting with the applicants and they've decided that they don't want to have a long Planning Committee dominated by objectors speaking against the proposals, with recommendations of refusal.' But they left the door ajar for a future submission, adding: 'They have asked me to confirm that they want to withdraw the planning and listed building applications to avoid the need to be reported to Planning Committee, and would like the opportunity to negotiate with you and your colleagues about the listed building and what they can use it for.' The Muslim Centre had previously planned to change the pub's historic interior and build a large copper-coloured extension decorated with Islamic-style screens and Arabic lettering on the exterior. The decorations would have been constructed onto the rear of the pub to be a 'purpose-built place of worship'. Pictured: The Gatehouse pub, which has survived the Blitz but is now at the centre of a planning row storm Pictured: The Norwich Muslim Centre's proposals for the site, including a large copper-coloured extension decorated with screens and Arabic lettering which would be built onto the rear of the pubThe Muslim Centre hit back after leaflets were posted around Norwich, asking: 'Should this pub be converted into a mosque', by claiming that the pub 'only had three regulars' when it was open. The withdrawal comes just days after the local heritage group The Norwich Society sent a detailed objection on September 21. While praising the 'quality of the proposed scheme' and the prayer hall's 'well-designed' plans, the society criticised the 'sheer scale', stating the proposed extension would be 'almost three times the footprint of the existing pub'. The society also questioned whether it was the best use of the historic building in the long-term, writing: 'It is acknowledged that some benefit can be identified through the reuse of a listed building, but a question remains as to whether adding a prayer hall of this scale, and with this degree of impact on the listed building, is necessary to bring the building back into active long-term use.' The society's objection also comes after the Daily Mail reported earlier this month that it was set to be rejected by the council after its own conservation and design team produced a report stating it would cause 'substantial harm' to a 'heritage asset'. The property had been empty since the previous landlord died, but there had been a pub on the site since 1866.The original building had been destroyed by fire, while the current pub had survived being hit in World War Two. The report stated: 'Despite being damaged by enemy action on the night of April 27 and 28 in 1942, during the Norwich Baedeker Raids, the public house survived until its closure in 2023 owing to the ill health of its then proprietor.' A CGI of the proposed building, which received over 800 objections from locals and organisations The Grade II-listed Gatehouse in Norwich, Norfolk, was built in the 1930s. An historic photo of the building is seen hereIt further added that it's a 'superb example' of medieval Kent and East Anglian architecture, but that it would be dominated by the rear extension, which accommodates prayer halls for men and women. Conservation and Design Officer Jack Pearce stated in his report: 'The most significant intervention is the construction of a large rear block, with a partially glazed atrium connecting to the existing building. 'In terms of its scale and massing, whilst it is slightly subservient in height, in its width and length, combined with its near equivalent height to the existing rear extension, mean that it is of far greater size and volume than the existing building so would be entirely disproportionate and not in any way subservient to the existing building.' Mr Pearce also added that it would cause 'substantial harm', writing: 'Whilst the design narrative of a highly modern addition to an historic building is not, in theory, inherently the wrong approach to this site, it is judged that by virtue of the scale, massing and design that the proposals do not enhance the existing building and create a great impact upon the significance of the Grade II listed Gatehouse and its setting. 'Therefore, overall, it is judged that the cumulative impact of the proposals, in particular the construction of the new prayer hall block offers a degree of harm to the significance of the heritage asset and its setting; this is judged to be substantial harm.' The Muslim association filed two connecting planning applications - both of which have now been withdrawn. One application received 614 objections and 236 supporting letters, while the other got 250 complaints and 218 supporting letters. In Mr Pearce's conclusion, he went on to state that the property only closed down due to the 'ill health of the proprietor', and that there should be more effort made to 'reuse the building as a public house' either through grants or community funding, which, however, failed last time. The report concluded: 'These proposals cause substantial harm to its significance, through the construction of a large rear block which is inappropriate for the heritage asset in question through its design, scale and massing. 'Whilst there is some degree of public benefit in the building being brought back into some kind of use, the question remains as to whether the construction of the new prayer hall block is entirely necessary for this building to be brought into use, and whether the building in its existing form, or a sympathetically altered form, could not retain either its use as a public house or another appropriate use. 'There is not convincing evidence or justification that this is necessary, and that the building cannot be re-used in its current form.'