Fury over plans to build 13-storey Albanian 'mega mosque' in leafy London neighbourhood - despite there already being 15 in a three-mile radius

Published: 00:01, 6 August 2026 | Updated: 00:08, 6 August 2026 Residents have hit out against plans to build a 13-storey Albanian 'mega mosque' in a north-west London – despite there already being 15 within a three-mile radius.  Proposals to expand the UK Albanian Muslim Community and Cultural Centre in Queen's Park were submitted to the local council last month. Architects want to demolish the existing building, a former pub, and replace it with a 13-storey tower complete with three floors of prayer room, a morgue and function room for meetings and parties.  The development in Queen's Park, a leafy north-west London suburb known for its 30-acre Victorian park and period architecture, has sparked concern from locals.  One resident, who did not want to be named, told the Daily Mail: 'It's hard to understand how there is local need for a 13 storey mega-mosque in Queen's Park when there are already 15 others in a three mile radius.' The local said the building would cater for 'hundreds, potentially thousands of people, day and night' for prayers, weddings and funerals, bringing more 'traffic, parking, noise and disruption to the area'.  'The proposed size and height of the building will dominate the area, and will dwarf and overshadow the charming Baptist church right next to it,' he added. A two-storey converted pub would be demolished and replaced by a 13-storey tower that could see thousands of worshippers attend, planning documents showed Planning pictures show the 13-storey mosque towering above the West Kilburn Baptist Church, the green roofed building pictured here Your browser does not support iframes. The current site is an unassuming two-storey refurbished Irish pub – to be replaced by a tower of concrete and glass 'The design shown on the application doesn't fit in at all with the local architecture. It looks totally out of place both in style and size.'  Mock-up planning pictures show the 13-storey mosque, which has not yet received planning permission, towering above the neighbouring West Kilburn Baptist Church.  The application has currently attracted 238 comments by residents – most of which oppose the construction on Carlton Vale.   The architects, Ayad Al-Tuhafi, submitted the plans in December 2023 but objections were closed just a few weeks ago.  It said that the 'scale, massing and townscape impact of the proposed building have been carefully assessed throughout the design purpose'. When contacted by the Daily Mail, Mr Al-Tuhafi said: 'The building has been deliberately set back, with the cantilever commencing at the third floor to reduce the perceived mass of the building at street level, respect the setting of the neighbouring Baptist Church, and retain its visual prominence within the streetscape.' But the hundreds of objections raised on the planning proposal pointed out the lack of capacity in the area for thousands of worshippers to attend the mosque.  The area is already notorious for traffic jams due to its narrow lanes. One objection referenced the large mosque in nearby Regents Park that attracts thousands of worshippers. The objector wrote that it brings the surrounding area to a 'virtual standstill on Fridays'.  The proposed building, pictured here, will have a distinct design that will house prayer facilities  Another Queen's Park resident, Angela Gluck, said the problem was 'not the purpose of the building or the religious groups. The issue is the impact on the existing residents of a building that will probably be open around the clock and will block light and attract traffic.'  Ayad Al-Tuhafi's proposal includes the demolition of the current two-storey building surrounded in flowers to be replaced by a tower that will hold communal religious space and 'flexible community facilities'.  The building will orientate the prayer spaces towards the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, in the direction of prayer for Muslims, known as the Qibla.  Local Conservative councillor Sapna Chadha said: 'I fully support the right of every faith community to have appropriate places to worship. Brent is proud of its diversity, and every community deserves to practise faith freely and safely. 'This is an exceptionally large proposal of 13 floors. Queen's Park already experiences serious traffic congestion, parking pressures and infrastructure that has failed to keep pace with development.  'Residents have been raising these concerns for years, yet Brent Council has too often allowed growth without delivering the roads, transport improvements and local infrastructure people need.' But not all residents were keen to write off the development.  Dan Coppel, a local who works in finance, said: 'Whilst instinctively a 13 story mosque in north west London arouses concerns, the fact that it is apparently Albanian is important. As a very broad generalisation, Albania for many years has been a rare beacon of religious tolerance.  Local residents have said the design threatens to 'dominate the area, and will dwarf and overshadow the charming Baptist church' 'I didn't know that there was sufficient demand for such a large Albanian facility or who is backing this project but personally I'd be cautious before campaigning against it solely because it's a large mosque and would first want to examine the promoters.' More residents who spoke to the Daily Mail but did not want to be named, questioned where the existing mosque could secure the immense amount of money needed to fund the development.  The current site is an unassuming two-storey refurbished Irish pub – to be replaced by a tower of concrete and glass.  When asked how it planned to fund the 13-storey building, the UK Albanian Muslim Community & Cultural Centre said it would do so through debt finance, donations from members and 'support from UK based religious and Islamic charitable organisations'. The cultural centre has been based in the building since 1996 and said it had 'provided a place of worship together with educational, charitable and community services for local residents'.  It said that the new building was needed to 'meet the needs of a growing local community'.  A spokesman for the organisation said: 'Traffic, noise and infrastructure have been key considerations throughout the design and planning process. 'Where potential impacts have been identified, appropriate mitigation measures have been incorporated into the proposals in accordance with relevant planning policies and technical guidance.'  On its large design, he added: 'The design team and specialist consultants have worked extensively over several years to develop proposals that respond carefully to the site's constraints and surrounding townscape. 'The proposed redevelopment represents a significant investment in local community infrastructure, providing a modern, high quality facility that will support religious, educational, charitable and community activities for many years to come.  'The design has been developed to sit respectfully within its surroundings while responding to the changing character of the wider South Kilburn regeneration area, including neighbouring residential developments and the adjacent church. 'In addition to prayer facilities, the development will provide classrooms for children's education, a ground floor café, restaurant space, flexible community facilities, and accommodation for charitable and cultural activities.'