Three-hundred worshippers are set to lose their mosque after Islington Council’s planning committee approved its demolition.

Islington Gazette: Children at an after school club in the Masjid mosque, York Way. Picture: Dieter PerryChildren at an after school club in the Masjid mosque, York Way. Picture: Dieter Perry (Image: Dieter Perry)

York Way Masjid, which also operates as a community centre, is facing closure after eight years in Brewery Road, Holloway.

Atlas Property and Services applied to demolish the building, in which the mosque rents the first and second floor, to build a five-storey office block.

After a decision was deferred in October, the application was granted at a town hall meeting last night.

A council spokesman said today: “The chairman [Cllr Robert Khan] expresses regret about the situation the mosque is facing, but a planning committee can only make its decision on planning rules, and from this perspective there was no reason to refuse the application.”

As reported by the Gazette in October, mosque chairman Mukhtar Osman bemoaned Islington having “no alternative” for its 300 worshippers in the event of closure. More than 400 people signed a petition against the plans.

The mosque has been contacted for comment.