Birmingham’s Church of Scientology has opened it doors this weekend – ten years after the building was first bought.
Former members of the church gathered near the cordon to protest against the opening of the £4.2million building, claiming that the church is simply focused on taking money from people.
Despite nearby roads being shut, former members and protesters gathered near the cordon the express their anger at the opening of the church.
One former member, William Drummond, told the Birmingham Mail: ‘People don’t understand what’s going on in their local area and that’s very frightening.
‘The main motivation for them is money, property and expansion and that’s evident here.’
The Church of Scientology’s Pitmaston building finally opened more than 10 years after the site was bought
Prior to and during the opening, there was a large security presence near the site
Another ex-Scientologist, Adrian Bailey, added: ‘What annoyed me the most was that they always asked for money. And with all the secrecy, it’s not surprising people think it’s a cult.’
The Church bought the Pitmaston House property in 2007 for a whopping £4.2m – and all the renovations have finally taken place at the controversial place of worship.
The building was draped in large blue rosettes and ribbons while roads near to the site were closed as secretive church held its invite-only opening ceremony.
The organisation’s leader gave a speech at the event.
He said: ‘When that inaugural ribbon falls, so a curtain rises… and so it becomes every Scientologist’s responsibility to uplift England’s Salt of the Earth, thereby turning an industrial revolution into a spiritual revolution.’
A cordon was placed around nearby roads and the opening was an invite-only event
The Church of Scientology said it had a large following in Birmingham and that it planned to spread throughout the rest of the UK.
The building, dating back to the 1930s, is built on the site of the original Pitmaston house, which was constructed in the 1870s.
In 2003, the former Benefit Offices was made a Grade II listed building, protecting its interior, exterior and the setting of the building.
There were plans to tear down the building, which one angry objector described as ‘corrupt, sinister and dangerous cult’.
In 2003, the former Benefit Offices was made a Grade II listed building, protecting its interior, exterior and the setting of the building
Labour MP Roger Godsiff said he was ‘not a fan of the Church of Scientology, which is essentially a money-making cult’.
This was denied by the US-founded church, and was given the status of a fully-fledged religion by the Supreme Court in 2013.
Graeme Wilson, the Church of Scientology’s UK-based public affairs director, previously said: ‘A major function of our Churches is to give help in the local community, including with drug education, human rights education, literacy programmes, crime reduction programmes, helping those in need, and more.’