Plans to transform a Grade II-listed pub into a mosque are set to be blocked after the council warned it would cause ‘substantial harm’ to a ‘heritage asset’.

The Norwich Muslim Centre previously submitted plans to renovate the Gatehouse, which dates back to 1934 and is a protected ‘asset of community value’.

In these plans, the group had applied to change the use of the property’s extension from a community centre into a place of worship, sparking hundreds of complaints.

Proposals for the property’s extension at the rear show it would be large and copper-coloured with screens and Arabic lettering.

It comes after the pub, a mixture of Arts and Crafts and Tudor styles, closed three years ago following the death of its landlord.

Last month, leaflets were shared in the community opposing the plan and asked: ‘Should this pub be converted into a mosque?’

Sirajul Islam, a trustee of the Norwich Muslim Centre, responded to the claims, saying he knocked on doors around the community to discuss and understand their views.

‘So far, I have come across only three people who told me that they used to visit the pub on a regular basis when it was open and operating as a pub,’ he said.

‘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.’

Now, Norwich City Council’s Conservation and Design team have submitted a report criticising the proposals presented by the local Muslim association.

It also urged the council to refuse the application, stating it sees no ‘convincing evidence or justification’ for the building’s use to be changed.

A public house has been on the site since at least 1866, with the original destroyed by a fire at some point in the early 20th century.

The current building, which has been empty since the death of its former landlord in 2023, was built in 1934 and survived two attacks during the Second World War.

The report also describes the ‘inter-war improved’ public house as a ‘superb example’ of medieval Kent and East Anglian architecture.

It added that the most ‘significant intervention’ of the plans would be the construction of a rear extension to accommodate prayer halls for both men and women.

It said the ‘scale and massing’, along with its ‘width’, ‘length’ and height would mean it would be ‘far greater in size’ than the current building.

‘So [it] would be entirely disproportionate and not in any way subservient to the existing building,’ the report stated.