Helene Ofosu-Amaah, Ivy Dougan, James Barr, Nana Darko-Obiri, Revd Alana Lawrence 

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A CHURCH has been saved from dereliction after its upper floors were converted into a four-star hotel.

Camden Town Methodist Church, in Plender Street, recently transformed its unused upper floors into a hotel run by The Wesley.

The church is still based on the lower-ground floor, while the 38-room hotel occupies the four floors above.

According to church steward Ivy Dougan, the building was in danger of being declared derelict by the council before the construction work began in 2018.

“Ten years ago, we had squatters in the building, we had a pigeon infestation, the roof was falling off, we had pigeons flying in during service,” Ms Dougan said. The back wall of the building had been at risk of collapse, Ms Dougan added.

She said: “We had been approached by a few developers, and each time it was to build flats on top of the building, which the congregation refused.”

In an attempt to raise money to fix the building, the congregation applied for bank loans and ran voluntary collections.

“We tried everything,” said Helene Ofosu-Amaah, who has worked as a steward at the Church for 45 years.

Instead the congregation elected to partner with The Wesley, a Camden-based social enterprise that ploughs all of its profits back into the Methodist Church, according to general manager James Barr.

“Part of the process has always been about how the Methodist Church can re-use its assets, rather than just sell them all off because they don’t need them any more,” Mr Barr said.

“For me, it’s a way that Methodism can reinvent itself for the 21st century.”

The money raised from hotel rooms goes towards funding “projects we otherwise wouldn’t have the cash for.”

He said he hopes the hybrid church-hotel model will inspire other struggling religious organisations, adding “Otherwise what they do is sell off the buildings to developers who don’t really care about the history of the building.”

Reverend Alana Lawrence said: “We have a history here of shelter in this building, and that went on in the war – 120 people sheltered here – and then after it was part of a night shelter.

“There is the idea of being a presence here – the church has been here 200 years next year. It has been here throughout the generations in this community… If we stop selling off all the churches and start being creative and imaginative, it inspires.”

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