Final Push as £461k Raised for Watford’s Former Church-to-Mosque Project

By Abdullahi Yusuf

The final donation to the Masjid Al-Ummah project, which aims to bring the vacant former St Thomas’ United Reformed Church back into use, came in on March 31 and brought the total raised within £40k of its goal.

Trustees have confirmed that the project is therefore progressing positively.

They added: “We have received encouraging support from the community thus far and are optimistic on the next steps.”

As outlined in the fundraiser, the money will go towards repaying some of the initial short-term financing that allowed the trustees purchase the building. The next steps will involve renovating the building and raising a further £2m for these works by the end of 2025.

The doors to a completed masjid on the site in Langley Road, Nascot, would then open in summer 2026, with the full £2.75m financing to be repaid by January 2027.

The church closed in 2015 and was set to be demolished and rebuilt as it was judged to be “not fit for purpose” due to “serious structural defects”.

Despite planning permission being approved twice, the scheme never got off the ground and the land was put up for sale last year when it became clear a new church would not be possible.

Read more on the details of the planned facility here: St Thomas’ United Reformed Church to be turned into mosque