The conversion of Brighton and Hove Sports and Social Club at 16 Lewes Road, including five rooms for occasional sleeping accommodation, were approved on October 30.
The plans split public opinion, with 10 objections and 14 letters of support lodged.
Objectors raised concerns about additional traffic and parking pressure, noise and crowds on the narrow pavement near a bus stop, while some feared the loss of an inclusive community space.
One objector wrote: “The area is already under severe pressure due to extremely high traffic, congestion and parking.”
They said they believed a place of worship would add to congestion.
Another objector said: “A building that was previously open to the whole of the community will be lost.”
Supporters argued that the proposal would provide a place for worship and help bring people together.
Letters in support said the mosque could make use of an underused building, provide space to pray and bring people together.
The owner of the post office at 6 Lewes Road wrote: “Visitors attending the place of worship are likely to support nearby independent businesses by visiting local cafés, shops, and restaurants before or after services and events.”
Another supporter said the proposal would create “a vibrant community hub that serves not only Muslims, but the wider community through education, charity, volunteering, youth engagement, and community support”.
Brighton and Hove Sports and Social club, formerly known as Brighton Trades Labour Club and Institute, closed in August 2024.
The members-only club opened in 1916 when it was first known as Brighton and District Labour Club & Institute. Its first premises were in London Road, until it moved to where the club would remain for the rest of its service in Lewes Road in 1963.
Evaluating the application, a council planning officer said a place of worship counted as a community facility under council policy, so the proposal represented a change between community uses rather than the loss of a community facility.
The report said about 32.5 per cent of the club’s floor space would become a mosque, while about 67.5 per cent would retain social club use.
The first-floor event space would remain available for wider community use, although its bar would be removed and alcohol would not be served, the report said.
The proposed hours for worship, meetings and associated activities were 8am to 10pm from Monday to Saturday and 8am to 9pm on Sundays and bank holidays.
The submitted management plan says amplified sound would be kept inside and operated so it could not be heard at the nearest noise-sensitive premises.
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