“Religious divide
£100,000
The salary for Matthew Ashimolowo as the KICC's main preacher. The Archbishop of Canterbury earns £68,740

£9.5m
Donations made by the KICC congregation over 18 months

5,000
Congregation expected at KICC's Easter Sunday services

£33,000
Donations made by the average Church of England congregation over 18 months

£6.4m
Funds held by St Paul's Cathedral Foundation

£4.9m
Profit made by KICC in the last 18 months

4,000
Combined congregation expected at St Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey's Easter Sunday services”

“A pentecostal church based in a disused cinema in north-east London has emerged as one of the country's richest religious institutions.

The Kingsway International Christian Centre, in Walthamstow, has filed company accounts which reveal it made a £4.9m profit over the last 18 months. It also has assets of £22.9m - more than three times the amount held by the foundation which maintains St Paul's Cathedral.

The church is led by a controversial Nigerian pastor, Matthew Ashimolowo, who earns a salary of £100,000 a year and preaches that God wants you rich.

His church's wealth stems largely from the donations it encourages from its 8,000-strong largely African and Caribbean congregation. They gave £9.5m in tithes and offerings in the 18 months to April 2008, dwarfing the £33,000 that the average Church of England congregation gave over the same period.

Rather than a more traditional plate collection, forms are handed out to worshippers so they can make bank transfers at some services.

KICC's wealth is the clearest sign yet of the gathering popularity of evangelical pentecostalism which is the only growing branch of Christianity in the UK with an estimated 300,000 weekly worshippers. This Easter Sunday KICC is running five services over 12 hours which are expected to attract 5,000 worshippers, more than Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral together.

The church's increasing wealth represents a transformation in its fortunes after the discovery in 2005 by Charity Commission investigators of financial irregularities. Ashimolowo was ordered to repay £200,000 after it emerged he used church assets to buy a £13,000 Florida timeshare and £120,000 on his birthday celebrations, including £80,000 on a car. New trustees were appointed and Ashimolowo was removed from his role as chief executive.

"The last 18 months have been a period of incredible journey in the life of KICC," said Ashimolowo in a preface to the accounts. "It has been very exciting to see God move the ministry from one level to another as we witness the increased manifestation of His glory."

Ashimolowo is understood to earn his salary from preaching as well as royalties from sermons published in books and on DVDs through his own company. Matthew Ashimolowo Media Ministries made a profit of close to £60,000 in 2003. It has not filed accounts of trading since then although it still operates.

Four KICC directors earn between £60,000 and £80,000 each. By contrast, a typical Church of England vicar earns around £21,500 and even the Archbishop of Canterbury, who has responsibility for an active congregation of close to a million people, only earns £68,740 a year.

"This is a very well-financed business," said a tax accountant who examined the accounts for the Guardian. "It holds more than £16m in short term investments. I am the honorary auditor of my local church and they have just £20,000 on deposit."

The accountant, who asked not to be named because his firm audits other wealthy pentecostal churches, estimated the KICC had avoided a tax bill of at least £1.3m as a result of its charitable status.

Senior KICC officials denied the surplus meant they were taking too much from their worshippers, many of whom live in the poorest parts of London. "People give because of how they have been blessed by what they receive from the church the teaching, the prayer and the church community," said Soji Otudeko, director of finance. "People give voluntarily and because of their love of the work of God."

"The teaching of the church is very much about self-development," said James McGlashan, a former oil executive who is now KICC's chief operating officer. "If that is preaching wealth then we are preaching wealth. Becoming financially independent, owning a house, getting a degree and a better job is good."

The church's International Gathering of Champions conference at the Excel centre in east London last August attrac”

“A pentecostal church based in a disused cinema in north-east London has emerged as one of the country's richest religious institutions.

The Kingsway International Christian Centre, in Walthamstow, has filed company accounts which reveal it made a £4.9m profit over the last 18 months. It also has assets of £22.9m - more than three times the amount held by the foundation which maintains St Paul's Cathedral.

The church is led by a controversial Nigerian pastor, Matthew Ashimolowo, who earns a salary of £100,000 a year and preaches that God wants you rich.

His church's wealth stems largely from the donations it encourages from its 8,000-strong largely African and Caribbean congregation. They gave £9.5m in tithes and offerings in the 18 months to April 2008, dwarfing the £33,000 that the average Church of England congregation gave over the same period.

Rather than a more traditional plate collection, forms are handed out to worshippers so they can make bank transfers at some services.

KICC's wealth is the clearest sign yet of the gathering popularity of evangelical pentecostalism which is the only growing branch of Christianity in the UK with an estimated 300,000 weekly worshippers. This Easter Sunday KICC is running five services over 12 hours which are expected to attract 5,000 worshippers, more than Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral together.

The church's increasing wealth represents a transformation in its fortunes after the discovery in 2005 by Charity Commission investigators of financial irregularities. Ashimolowo was ordered to repay £200,000 after it emerged he used church assets to buy a £13,000 Florida timeshare and £120,000 on his birthday celebrations, including £80,000 on a car. New trustees were appointed and Ashimolowo was removed from his role as chief executive.

"The last 18 months have been a period of incredible journey in the life of KICC," said Ashimolowo in a preface to the accounts. "It has been very exciting to see God move the ministry from one level to another as we witness the increased manifestation of His glory."

Ashimolowo is understood to earn his salary from preaching as well as royalties from sermons published in books and on DVDs through his own company. Matthew Ashimolowo Media Ministries made a profit of close to £60,000 in 2003. It has not filed accounts of trading since then although it still operates.

Four KICC directors earn between £60,000 and £80,000 each. By contrast, a typical Church of England vicar earns around £21,500 and even the Archbishop of Canterbury, who has responsibility for an active congregation of close to a million people, only earns £68,740 a year.

"This is a very well-financed business," said a tax accountant who examined the accounts for the Guardian. "It holds more than £16m in short term investments. I am the honorary auditor of my local church and they have just £20,000 on deposit."

The accountant, who asked not to be named because his firm audits other wealthy pentecostal churches, estimated the KICC had avoided a tax bill of at least £1.3m as a result of its charitable status.

Senior KICC officials denied the surplus meant they were taking too much from their worshippers, many of whom live in the poorest parts of London. "People give because of how they have been blessed by what they receive from the church the teaching, the prayer and the church community," said Soji Otudeko, director of finance. "People give voluntarily and because of their love of the work of God."

"The teaching of the church is very much about self-development," said James McGlashan, a former oil executive who is now KICC's chief operating officer. "If that is preaching wealth then we are preaching wealth. Becoming financially independent, owning a house, getting a degree and a better job is good."

The church's International Gathering of Champions conference at the Excel centre in east London last August attrac”

“Why do they " dump" all those that cannot be accommodated or no-one else wants on OUR doorstep? Surely there was a local plan for the area which comprised what should and shouldnt be situated within the economic zone (as I call it) of the triangle - there needs to be a balance. This KICC application does nothing to balance the area at all.

There needs to be an environmental impact study re the numbers that this church attract and also to balance it up with the economic needs of the area. We have a day and night economy within the triangle - the Bingo was both and it would dovetail very nicely with the matinees and evening performances of a cinema - bingo out and cinema in a reversal of the 1950s when cinemas were closing. The cafes and restaurants would get a shot in the arm with the increase in movie suppers and teas and it would bring many people from all age groups, races, faiths to discover Crystal Palace and all that goes on there - even coming along just to visit without seeing a film!

Again we are caught on the backfeet with some done deal behind the back door - personally I would have thought they . the planners,had caught a cold when they tried this on with the multiplex many years ago. Some so called developers will never learn and we are left to object and lobby- Its not on, otherwise we are left with the white elephants, decaying and unused pipedreams of so called futuristic planners. Its beyond a joke”

“I think the church is missing the point here. This is a key spot, and should be something everyone cane use / increase footfall. 500 people coming from a different area isn't the only problem, its the fact that massive percentage of locals wont be able to use this space.

We already have youth clubs, we have loads of cafes, and plenty of churches on our door step. So the KICC better think again if they think that local people will warm to them!

We dont, unfortunantly have a cinema, which would benefit the youth, the elderly, and everyone in between! not to mention boost footfall for other business's and no doubt attract even more business's to the area.”

“this is crazy why cant we have something to benefit all not just some nutters”

“While I can appreciate that there is a need to cater for the variety of faiths, our area does already provide for spiritual well-being in the form of numerous churches. We do not, however, have a cinema. The road in question is crying out for successful regeneration in the same fashion as the other two sides of the Triangle. A cinema would inject another thriving business into the area, bring pleasure to the WHOLE community and kick-start the badly needed transformation of Church Road. I'm confident that if locals had been canvassed about what they thought would best serve the area through the sale of the Bingo hall, a cinema would have topped the poll. The online petition is a great start, but perhaps direct mailing to the Council might force a rethink about the sale.

Let's have another look at what LOCALS really want!”

“Class D1. Non-residential institutions.
Any use not including a residential use:
(a) for the provision of any medical or health services except the use of premises attached to the residence of the consultant or practioner,
(b) as a crêche, day nursery or day centre,
(c) for the provision of education,
(d) for the display of works of art (otherwise than for sale or hire),
(e) as a museum,
(f) as a public library or public reading room,
(g) as a public hall or exhibition hall,
(h) for, or in connection with, public worship or religious instruction.

Class D2. Assembly and leisure
Use as:
(a) a cinema,
(b) a concert hall,
(c) a bingo hall or casino,
(d) a dance hall,
(e) a swimming bath, skating rink, gymnasium or area for other indoor or outdoor sports or recreations, not involving motorised vehicles or firearms.”

“Ian - Excuse my ignorance but what is a D1 and D2 site?”

“Why has the KICC choosen to purchase a D2 site? The site on Church Road is one of the few community venues in the area. By purchasing this site with the intention of changing the use to D1 the KICC are denying the local community a valuable resource that could have been used by the young, old, christian and non-christian alike.

In this light the quoted intention of regenerating the area seems either naive or insulting.

A church is it's congregation and a cinema is a building.”