Fury Over Eviction of Pentecostal City Mission Church
Locks changed without warning to enable development of site
Picture: Pentecostal City Mission Church
There has been an angry response to the sudden eviction of the Pentecostal City Mission Church on Scrubs Lane recently with the matter being raised in parliament.
Early in the morning on Wednesday 23 March, without warning the locks were changed on the building leaving parents unable to drop their children off at the Church’s nursery and staff unable to collect their belongings from inside.
Reverend Desmond Hall, who is based at the Church said, “We are shocked and saddened that Fruition took possession of this beloved church and vital lifeline for so many community members. As well as a valued place of worship, many families and young children rely on us for support services and food donations. During busy times, we can cater to up to a 1,000 people across one day. What will they do now that Fruition have changed the locks?
“We won’t give up hope and with the support of the community, we’ll continue to fight for Pentecostal City Mission Church.”
The Church, which many believe is a vital resource in a deprived area, has been running for more than 20 years. The Church is a registered Asset of Community Value (ACV). The Church provides multiple services including a food bank, dementia café, nursery, youth club, and other local community services for people living in White City, Harlesden and North Kensington.
The Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) is the local planning authority for the site. In 2018, Fruition Properties sought planning permission to build a mixed-use 20-storey development. Twenty of the 85 flats in the buildings would be let at “affordable” rents while the rest will be sold at market price.
Artist's impression of what the 20-storey block of flats in Scrubs Lane would look like
A condition of the approval was to secure a replacement space for the Church and associated services as part of the new development. Supporters of the church have claimed that Fruition Properties did little to help the church find a suitable new property, which was a condition of the planning permission it received in 2018. The company says it has effectively helped the church by allowing it to stay on the site in Scrubs Lane rent free since January 2020. Although it is understood that new premises will be provided once the development is complete there will be no base for operation for the Church until then.
Andy Slaughter MP for Hammersmith has raised the matter in the House of Commons. He said, Andy Slaughter MP for Hammersmith said, “It’s unacceptable and quite frankly unbelievable news to hear that a developer has evicted a church, nursery and foodbank at a time where so many families are under financial strain to put food on the table. I have made my position to Fruition abundantly clear on numerous occasions and they have refused to meet to reach a solution, despite the planning policy clearly requiring provision for the church.
David Lunts, CEO of OPDC said, “It is shocking that Fruition Properties have evicted the church. It's hard to believe that with so much local need for services such as this, especially at a time of increasing hardship, any developer could act with such heartlessness.
"It’s all the more outrageous as our planning policy makes quite clear that space for the church and its community facilities must be part of any redevelopment. I have attempted to engage with Fruition to seek an amicable resolution with the Church, but they have refused to meet.”
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
April 11, 2022