The feud over the future of Wimbledon’s Merton Hall will come to a head this week as councillors decide its fate.

The current proposal is for the building in Kingston Road to be partly demolished and refurbished to become home to Elim Pentecostal Church.

As part of a freehold swap agreement, Elim Church’s warehouse in High Path would then be transformed into a new secondary school.

The plans will be discussed at Merton Council’s planning applications committee on Thursday night (September 21).

Officers have recommended the scheme is approved.

The council’s cabinet member for education, Councillor Caroline Cooper-Marbiah said: “Over the last decade, Merton has seen an unprecedented rise in the number of schoolchildren needing school places.

“We are known as a family-friendly borough and we have created over 4,000 extra primary school places so that every child can receive an education in the borough where they live - a feat many London boroughs have struggled to achieve.”

To satisfy the need for more places in the east of the borough, Merton is also extending the size of Harris Merton Academy in Pollards Hill by 300 places for 11 to 16 year olds.

More than 2,500 people have signed a 38 Degrees petition calling for the historic Merton Hall to be spared.

The petition states: “Merton Council itself has for years acknowledged its historic and architectural merit by making it a locally-listed building, and putting it on the local heritage trail.”

Elaine Chambers, of Kingston Road, said she has spent ‘many hours’ collecting signatures for the petition.

She said: “Merton Hall has always been used by many different groups, cultures, and faiths. The installation of a single faith Pentecostal church will bring an abrupt and shocking end to the community use that the hall has enjoyed throughout its life.”

Merton Council said: “As part of the agreement between Merton Council and Elim Church, residents will still be able to hire Merton Hall as a community space after Elim Church move in.”

Another critic is Peter Walker, Labour’s shadow cabinet member for education in Merton.

He said: “The school as planned is by a heavily polluted A24 main road, planned to be five storeys high, and to house 1,200 teenagers with little or no open play space.”

Deputy leader of Merton Council, Councillor Mark Allison said: “It is outrageous to suggest anyone is ‘knocking down’ Merton Hall, as anti-school campaigners are claiming.

“The truth is we want to upgrade the hall and get the community using it again.

“Elim Church provides our vital foodbank service and will be great hosts, making the hall available for residents too.

“Residents are fed-up of anti-schools extremists and just want to know that, in line with the policy we've had for many years, our fabulous schools and academies, which are some of the fastest improving in the country, can expand to provide enough places in the right locations by the time their children need to go there.”

Merton Hall is a Queen Anne-style building donated to the Merton community by philanthropist John Innes – famous for his compost – in 1902.

As well as its historic importance, Merton Hall was also graced with performances by Hawkwind, before the late Lemmy went on to found Motorhead.