Overview
- The council refused the Leavesden Road Baptist Church conversion, citing substantial harm to the Grade II listed interior and excessive exterior changes.
- Applicant Shabaz Khaliq said the Leavesden Road scheme will be scaled back and resubmitted, with current community uses continuing and no works undertaken without consent.
- Officers recommended approving the St Thomas’ United Reformed Church plans, judging the reuse with a nursery, café and community spaces to deliver benefits without identified adverse harm.
- The St Thomas’ building is not listed, was described as having structural defects, and is owned by the Ar‑Rahmah Trust, which purchased the site for £3.5 million and targets completion by this summer.
- Consultation on St Thomas’ recorded 82 support comments and 42 objections, with transport assessments indicating no significant traffic impact due to scheduling outside peak hours; the Leavesden Road bid drew 13 objections.