Experts say the extension to the pub could cause ‘substantial harm’ to a heritage asset.
How The Gatehouse looked in 2024, a year after closing (Image: Google Maps)
Plans to convert a grade-II listed pub into a mosque have been slammed for causing ‘substantial harm to a heritage asset’.
Norwich Muslim Centre wants to convert The Gatehouse pub into a place of worship and community hub by building a modern extension at the pub’s rear. Proposed images show the front of the mock Tudor watering hole will largely stay unchanged, but a new prayer hall will be built from glass and copper.
The Gatehouse was initially constructed in 1934 as a modern venue that would attract families and middle class visitors with bright windows, spacious interiors, and manicured gardens in an effort to combat drunkenness often witnessed in older, smaller boozers. The Gatehouse closed in 2023 after the landlord fell into ‘ill health’ and has been empty ever since.
But it looks like the Muslim Centre’s plans will have to go back to the drawing board after heritage experts from Norwich City Council have concluded the plans would cause ‘substantial harm’ to the site.
Another view of the prayer hall extension (Image: Brown&Co for Norwich Muslim Centre via Norwich council planning portal)
A report explained why: “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.”
How The Gatehouse pub would look with its prayer hall extension (Image: Brown&Co for Norwich Muslim Centre via Norwich council planning portal)
The document concluded by asking Norwich City Council to refuse planning permission.
Some 194 objections and 213 letters of support have been lodged on the planning application. Most public comments raised concerns about the size of the extension, and amount of car parking as only 24 spaces are proposed.
Applicant Sirajul Islam, a trustee of the Norwich Muslim Centre, told the Daily Mail he only found three pub regulars when getting public feedback on the scheme.
He added: “This did make me wonder where all those objections and concerns are coming from. We really do appreciate the concerns being raised, and we are fully committed to working with the wider community.”
A final decision has not been made over The Gatehouse plans by Norwich City Council.