Anger at billionaires’ plan to reshape church around their art

A BILLIONAIRE couple who backed David Cameron’s bid to become Conservative Party leader in 2005 have sparked a backlash from Historic England over plans to demolish parts of a listed church for their art collection.

Poju and Anita Zabludowicz founded the Zabludowicz Collection in the Nineties to “champion” emerging contemporary artists.

The pair, said to own 40 per cent of the real estate in downtown Las Vegas, took over a former Methodist chapel in Chalk Farm, north London, in 2007 to house works by the likes of Tracey Emin, a former Turner Prize nominee.

In January, the couple submitted plans to demolish part of the chapel’s former Sunday school to extend the gallery and create potential space for a café.

But Historic England, the Government’s official heritage adviser, claimed the demolition would “cause harm to a listed building”, which dates to 1880.

The couple, rated the ninth wealthiest people in Britain, resubmitted plans last month which agreed to preserve more of the former Sunday school’s walls but included reconstruction of original brick features. However, the new plans also proposed further demolition of the space’s middle gallery.

A letter sent to Camden council by Historic England read: “We welcome the changes made to retain the majority of the walls of the former Sunday school, the oldest space in the building.

“This will allow continued appreciation of this space and its role connected to the chapel, whilst retaining a greater degree of its material integrity than the previous scheme. We are disappointed to note that the revisions include a greater degree of demolition to the middle gallery... The justification for this change is not clear. Overall we consider that the scheme is notably improved, although it would still cause some harm to the listed building.”

A spokesman for the Zabludowicz Collection told the London Evening Standard: “The proposed plans respect and enhance the historic features of the building and the collection is working closely with architects FMA, Camden Design and Historic England to ensure the rich character and history of the building would be maintained as part of any future improvement works.”