The High Court has ordered that illegal buildings erected on a site earmarked for a controversial ‘mega mosque’ in West Ham must be removed.

The owners of the Riverine Centre site in Canning Road, had called on the High Court to suspend an injunction that required the removal of the buildings, which was made in May 2013.

But their request has now been refused.

They had wanted to build a 29,227 sq m mosque on the site with capacity for 9,000 worshippers. a planning application went before Newham Council in 2012 but was refused.

A public enquiry was held by the government’s planning inspectorate in 2014, when the plans were also turned down.

The site, a former chemical works, was bought in 1996 by the Anjuman-E-Islahul-Muslimeen Trust but in a 2013 hearing that resulted in an injunction being granted, the High Court heard how it had endured “a long process of unauthorised development” during that time.

A spokeswoman for Newham Council said: “The High Court refused an application by the owners of the Abbey Mills Riverine Centre site in Canning Road, seeking an order to suspend an injunction granted in May 2013.

“The injunction requires the owners of the site to stop using it as a place of worship and to clear the area of buildings which have been illegally built up over two decades.

“As a result of the judgement we expect the owners of the site to comply fully with the requirements of the injunction.

“We will monitor activity and correspond with the owners to affirm expectations as to when the required work will be completed.”

The rejected development would have included a segregated space for nearly 2,000 women, a library, dining hall, visitors’ centre, and eight flats for Imams and guests, along with tennis courts, football pitches, a garden, and a riverside walk along Abbey Creek.

The owners of the site have been contacted for comment.