A £1.5 million mosque could be built in a Black Country town despite objections from people living there who say that it will cause problems.

Owners of the Ghausia Mosque, Lye, may get permission to demolish their High Street building and replace it with a modern equivalent. They also want to build a new community hall. The existing mosque, hosting prayer meetings for up to 200, faces away from the High Street.

Owners want permission to turn it around so the entrance faces the High Street. Dudley Council planning officers recommend the plan is approved on June 1.

People living nearby are concerned it will affect their quality of life and 21 letters of objection have been received from people in Church Street, High Street, Morvale Street, Morvale Gardens and Morvale Court.

They are worried the development will exacerbate existing parking problems on Morvale Gardens and surrounding streets.

There are also fears it will prevent pedestrian access to the High Street from Morvale Gardens and that the building is out of character with the area.

Margaret Bashford, of Morvale Gardens, said: “The new building will be far too big, dominating the houses and flats around it, and with a dome and minaret will look completely out of character for a quiet residential cul-de-sac.”

One letter of support for the scheme has been received from someone linving Spring Street.

A report for the planning committee says: “The proposed new building will effectively fill an unsightly gap in Morvale Gardens.

“The building will be of an appropriate scale in relation to the existing adjacent buildings to either side.

“The dome and minaret will be clearly visible from the High Street and Morvale Gardens, but as they are to be located centrally on the building and set back from the site’s frontages they would not be unduly prominent.”

Speaking after the plan was unveiled, Mohammed Zarab, general secretary of the Ghausia Mosque, said that he did not envisage any major objections because there had been a mosque on the site for more than 30 years.