Help us repair our new building in Harrogate

Assalamu aleikum once again from Harrogate in beautiful North Yorkshire in the United Kingdom.

Earlier this year, Harrogate’s small Muslim community was successful in gaining planning permission renovate an unused historic building in the town centre. We came to LaunchGood to top up funds to purchase the building for our first mosque and, alhamdulillah, that campaign was successful. 

You can read more about that campaign and watch a short video about the history of our community here. 

Our next steps

Once we gained access to the building again, we found additional damage caused by rainwater since we first viewed the building. Alhamdulillah, we have conducted a full renovation of the roof which has bought us time to continue the renovations inside until we can start using the building regularly. We were able to do this under budget, for approximately £35,000. This included the removal of structurally unsound chimneys, new guttering, a complete replacement roof at the centre of the building (which was the primary source of leaks) and new roof slates throughout.

The primary structural elements of the building itself, including the interior masonry walls and foundations, are in good shape. However, the interior floors will have to be replaced with new steel infrastructure to replace existing damaged beams and to support increased loads expected when using the building as a house of worship. The building was derelict for over over 10 years, as a member of the Home Guard Club the building used to house told us recently. This stage of works should allow us to begin using the building, inshallah, though further fundraising will be needed to complete the building's functionality (kitchen, CCTV, etc).

What we need from you

Our previous campaign asking for £200,000 raised enough money to purchase the building outright. That target included these emergency repairs to the roof, but we need to continue fundraising to do the minimum interior work necessary to use the building for its intended purpose, inshallah. For this stage, we are asking for an additional £100,000. This will allow us to strip the interior of the building and install new steel infrastructure that can allow us to begin partially using the building while we continue other works and ongoing fundraising.

We are grateful to the people of Harrogate for standing by us and supporting our purchase. And we are committed to restoring the building and honouring its historic legacy. But all this effort will fail if we don't prevent further damage. Please donate generously so that we can create a facility that the entire city can be proud of, looked after by a Muslim community that aims to be a model for peace, collaboration, and civic pride. In the UK, your donations are GiftAid eligible, meaning that we can claim an extra 25p for every £1 you give. It will not cost you any extra.

Stay tuned to this page and our social media feeds (Twitter: @harrogateIA, Facebook: @harrogatemuslims) for updates, including pledges of support, video and pictures.

Jazakullah khair.

The brothers and sisters of the Harrogate Islamic Association