Grade II listed church set to be sold by council

North Gate Hall in St Michael's Street stands opposite Oxford Union's building in St Michael's Street

A council is set to sell a Grade II listed church to its current tenant.

North Gate Hall in St Michael's Street, Oxford, was used as a Bill's restaurant between 2012 and 2020 but shut because of the pandemic and never reopened.

It was built in 1871 to designs by city architect JC Curtis and used as a United Methodist Free Church chapel.

Oxford City Council currently leases the building to the Oxford Evangelical Presbyterian Church on a 35-year term, which started in January 2023.

The lease earns the authority £145,000 a year but the church asked to buy the building and the council formally agreed to sell on Tuesday.

It hopes the proposed sale "will generate a capital receipt that will support the council's financial position".

The building, which stands opposite the Oxford Union, was used for offices in the late 1950s and as an Afro-Caribbean social club in the late 1980s.

The council will withhold financial details until the deal is completed.