A Church of England covenant has blocked plans to convert a former church in Stoke-on-Trent into a mosque.

Despite the local council’s approval to convert St John’s Church in Hanley into a mosque and community centre, a restrictive covenant on the Grade II listed building prohibits its use as a place of worship for any other religion, overriding the planning consent.

The 18th century church was last active in the 1980’s. Following structural concerns, the building was sold by the Diocese of Lichfield in 2009 and later converted into an antiques centre and café prior to its closure in 2020.

Last year, the Zamir Foundation submitted plans to convert the building into a multi-use space, including a mosque, museum, multi-faith library and women-only gym after purchasing it for £140,000.

The Church Commissioners stated that the applicants were informed of the restrictive covenant during the planning process. It said that while the Church supports repurposing former churches for community use, the covenant strictly prohibits the building from being used as a place of worship for any religion other than Christianity.