Legal challenge launched to block conversion of Grade II Carnegie library into Abergavenny mosque

A legal challenge has been launched to stop a Grade II listed former Carnegie Library in Abergavenny, South Wales, from becoming the town's first mosque after Monmouthshire County Council agreed a 30-year lease with a local Muslim community group.

Three councillors and a resident have sent a pre-action letter, backed by the Christian Legal Centre, contesting the lease granted to the Monmouthshire Muslim Community Association. The council has until September 19 to respond before any formal court proceedings are lodged.

The building, a former Carnegie Library completed in 1905 with a grant of £4,000 from the Carnegie fund, has stood unused for about a decade. It is listed at Grade II and campaigners have objected to the terms of the lease, saying an important civic building given to the town by the Carnegie Trust should not be placed on long-term terms they describe as unduly favourable. The challengers say the agreement was effectively a peppercorn arrangement; other reporting indicates the lease has been framed at a figure of about £6,000 a year with the community association taking responsibility for repairs and maintenance.

Those initiating the action are Conservative councillors Louise Brown and Rachel Buckler, independent councillor Simon Howarth, and local resident John Hardwick. They contacted the campaigning group Christian Concern and have secured support from the Christian Legal Centre, whose chief executive Andrea Williams said the case "raises serious questions about transparency, fairness, and the proper use of public assets."

Cllr Rachel Buckler said the move was not motivated by religion and argued the challenge was about equal treatment of organisations and stewardship of a civic asset. "The whole point is no organisation should be treated with any more favour than any other," she said. "It is not about a Christian agenda; it's about the fact a lease was awarded, as far as we can see, for a peppercorn rent for 30 years for an incredibly important civic building that was given to the people by the Carnegie Trust in 1905."

Monmouthshire Muslim Community Association would be responsible under the proposed terms for repairs and maintenance of the building, which the challengers say made it unattractive to commercial tenants. The council agreed the lease earlier this year after the building remained vacant for approximately ten years.

The site has also been the target of hostile graffiti, including the words "no masjid" — the Spanish and Arabic word for mosque — an incident campaigners and local figures described as racist. The graffiti has been cited by supporters of the lease as evidence of both local tensions and the need for a permanent community facility.

Monmouthshire County Council acknowledged receipt of the pre-action letter but declined further comment, citing the ongoing nature of the legal matter. The council has until the stated deadline to respond before the challengers may commence formal litigation.

Legal sources said pre-action protocols are commonly used to seek remedies or clarifications and to allow authorities an opportunity to reconsider decisions without immediate court action. If the council does not resolve the dispute, the next step would be formal judicial proceedings, which could include claims for judicial review of the decision-making process underlying the lease.

The case highlights tensions that can arise when local authorities seek to reuse historic civic buildings, balancing historic covenants and public expectations with the practical costs of upkeep and community demand for space. The former Carnegie Library in Abergavenny, funded by the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie in the early 20th century, remains a prominent example of such dilemmas in smaller towns across the United Kingdom.