Mosque plans for Shadwell school hit by listing

DEVELOPERS wanting to demolish a former East End school to make way for an eight-storey mosque could be forced to withdraw their plans after the building was listed by English Heritage. Tower Hamlets council gave the go-ahead earlier this year for the Vi

DEVELOPERS wanting to demolish a former East End school to make way for an eight-storey mosque could be forced to withdraw their plans after the building was listed by English Heritage.

Tower Hamlets council gave the go-ahead earlier this year for the Victorian building in Bigland Street in Shadwell which is home to the Darul Ummah Community Centre to be torn down and replaced by an eight-storey building with three basement levels.

The centre which also houses the private Muslim boys' school Jamiatal Ummah would move into the new building which will also be used as a mosque and house funeral facilities, a gym and a caf�.

But developers will now have to go back to the drawing board after the former Lower Chapman Street Board School which was designed in 1873 was declared a grade II listed building.

The Victorian Society welcomed the decision and Conservation Adviser Heloise Brown said: "We appreciate that the listing decision is very frustrating for Darul Ummah as its development plans were so far advanced, but we hope the owners will now look at retaining the historic building.