Redevelopment plans approved for King’s Cross Methodist Church

The London District of the Methodist Church recently reported that the redevelopment plans for the King’s Cross Methodist Church site were unanimously approved at Camden Council’s planning committee on Thursday 5th June. As the District states, “The strong proposed visualisations colourfully sold the proposal in terms of materiality and design, and the description of the spaces created a clear understanding of the increased social value and good that the church will be able to deliver because of the proposal.”

The current entrance to King's Cross Methodist Church

Matthew Lloyd Architects were appointed to the project in early 2020, just before the first COVID lockdown. Despite the unique challenges of the next few years, the church and architects worked closely together through this period to develop a ‘thorough and imaginative’ proposal. The proposal includes expanding the basement, reconfiguring the interior, adding a new floor, and upgrading facilities – all while respecting the character of the conservation area and the King’s Cross locality.

With the approved plans, worship at King’s Cross will be enhanced, a community café will be opened, meeting spaces will be improved, and student housing will be increased, among other initiatives.

We at Hinde Street reached out to Billy Pang at King’s Cross Methodist Church for further comment on the process:

“We’re absolutely thrilled about the approval of our planning application for King’s Cross Methodist Church. This moment has been over a decade in the making—our last full application was submitted ten years ago and ultimately refused. To now receive consent in 2025, as we mark 200 years of Methodist presence in King’s Cross, feels like more than just poetic timing. Perhaps it’s divine timing.

This proposal isn’t just bricks and mortar—it’s a continuation of a 200-year legacy. Throughout the church’s long history, its members have responded to the needs of their time. One such milestone came around 1924—about a century after the church first opened—when the first major extension took place, laying new foundations for growth and service.

As the church chroniclers wrote:

“Let the King’s Cross Church take thought for the next century… as the elders of the opening of the century that is gone did for them.”

They forged ahead despite the challenges of their era—economic hardship, social unrest, and rapid urban change—yet still they built a place of welcome and refuge.

And perhaps most poignantly, let me end with one more quote from the church’s own records:

“An old story tells of an aged man who when found planting the seed of a tree whose fruit would not appear for a hundred years was asked… ‘why?’… and replied, ‘Did not someone take thought for me, a hundred years ago, that I might eat the luscious fruit I now enjoy?’”

We now plant anew—not for ourselves alone, but for those who will come after us. We ask for your prayers and support in the next exciting chapter of Methodism in Kings Cross.”

We at Hinde Street join the London District in congratulating King’s Cross Methodist Church and in praying for continued success as the project moves forward.

Originally reported on by the London District of the Methodist Church. Thanks to Billy Pang for additional comment.