A church in west London has successfully forced local authorities to reverse a ban that restricted street preaching, leaflet distribution and public displays of religious messages. The decision follows a legal challenge that argued the rules were unlawful and infringed on fundamental rights.
The Kingsborough Centre, a Pentecostal church based in Uxbridge, filed for a judicial review after discovering in 2023 that its regular outreach activities had been made illegal under a Public Spaces Protection Order issued by the London Borough of Hillingdon.
The church found out about the order during a prayer meeting and said it hadn’t been consulted beforehand, as confirmed in a subsequent meeting with council officers, the U.K.-based group Christian Concern said in a statement provided to The Christian Post on Sunday.
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The PSPO, introduced under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act, banned the use of amplification equipment, the distribution of religious literature and the display of Bible verses in Uxbridge town center. Church members said police confronted them the day after the order was published, warning that their preaching, signs, and leaflets breached the order and could lead to £100 ($135) fines or prosecution, as reported by The Standard.
The Christian Legal Centre (CLC), which is Christian Concern’s legal arm and supported the Kingsborough Centre, stated that signs with messages such as “Jesus Christ is Lord of Lords and King of Kings” were targeted, along with leaflets titled “How Can I Know God?” and “What is Christianity: An Introduction to the Story of Jesus.”
The church had been engaging in such outreach for years, including peace events after the 7/7 London bombings and running services like nurseries and affordable childcare across Hillingdon and Hounslow.
In February 2024, police questioned Pastor Dwayne Lopez and other Christian missionaries preaching on Uxbridge High Street after a public complaint objected to their use of verses from 1 Corinthians 6.
Citing the local PSPO, officers raised concerns about the use of amplification and informed the group that they were investigating allegations of racist and homophobic comments. Body-worn camera footage showed officers explaining hate crime definitions and asking about the content of their discussions. No arrests were made, but Pastor Lopez, backed by the CLC, condemned the use of the PSPO as a means to suppress religious expression and called the police action unjust.
Church leader Pastor Babatunde Balogun said the congregation was “criminalized for loving our neighbor,” and added that street evangelism was central to their faith and community service. He said the restrictions created a climate of fear and prevented the church from carrying out its ministry, as quoted by The Telegraph.
The legal team representing the church argued that the PSPO prohibited peaceful and lawful activity that could not be classified as anti-social under Section 59 of the legislation. They said there was no evidence of disturbances caused by Christian outreach and that the council failed to explain why such a broad restriction was justified.
The legal claim cited violations of Articles 9, 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protect freedoms related to religion, speech and assembly.
In August 2024, the High Court granted permission for the judicial review to proceed. By December, following correspondence with the church and its lawyers, the council issued a formal U-turn. It acknowledged that under existing legal exemptions, religious and charitable leaflet distribution could not be banned under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
The council also stated that it would remove the restrictions on amplification and the display of religious materials and would clarify the exemptions in a revised PSPO.
Hillingdon Council maintained that the original PSPO did not single out religious groups but was designed to regulate general disruption in public spaces. It said it responded to concerns from church groups by conducting an early review and issuing a revised PSPO after a consultation earlier this year.
The new order, introduced on May 1, removed the elements that had triggered the legal dispute.
CLC chief executive Andrea Williams said the PSPO had introduced unprecedented restrictions and warned it could have set a dangerous precedent for Christian outreach if left unchallenged. She said her organization was encouraged by the council’s reversal and urged other churches to closely monitor similar measures.
The Free Speech Union’s General Secretary, Toby Young, was quoted as saying that even the threat of a judicial review has proven sufficient in getting local authorities to withdraw such orders. He said the council had to “learn the lesson the hard way,” according to the Telegraph.
Hillingdon Council has agreed to cover the Kingsborough Centre’s legal costs, which are estimated to be around £20,000 (nearly $27,000).
