Rejecting plans for Dudley mosque will cost hundreds of thousands
The cost of throwing out fresh proposals for a new mosque to be built in Dudley will run into hundreds of thousands of pounds, a senior councillor has warned.
Planners were deciding tonight on whether to finally give plans for a new complex the go-ahead, seven years after a previous project attracted bitter opposition and divided the town.
This latest multi-million pound scheme for a 52ft high complex topped by a 62ft high minaret in Hall Street is recommended for the green light.
Among its supporters is the borough's Deputy Mayor Councillor Steve Waltho, who revealed that it cost the borough's taxpayers £250,000 in legal bills when an earlier application got the red light.
Councillor Waltho said: "Unfortunately for taxpayers when the council went against the plans previously it cost £250,000 in legal fees.
"We had professional planning officers involved. This time all the planning issues have been looked at and addressed and once again we're here with planning officers who have said this new application is better than the one we saw before.
"They have recommended it for approval."
The latest designs follow a previously failed bid, which had the minaret at a height of 109ft.
But it has still attracted 885 letters of objection over the size of the three-storey mosque and concerns about traffic congestion. A total of 370 letters of support and a petition backing the application with 1,718 signatures have also been sent to the council.
Councillor Waltho said the development would bring the community together and transform an 'eyesore' site. This proposal has a new design created with reduced floor space.
Dudley Muslim Association submitted the reserved matters planning application as part of its latest bid to build the worship centre to replace the cramped Dudley Central Mosque in Castle Hill and resolve its long-running legal dispute with council chiefs.
Association director and former chairman Dr Kurshid Ahmed said the body hoped the plans will be approved, but that it felt 'hard done by', by council chiefs.
"There is no reason for it not to go through with the recommendation that the officers have made. We are hoping that it will and end a long running stand-off in Dudley. Once things have settled down we can start rebuilding relationships in the community," Dr Ahmed said.
"We feel that we have been very done by," he added.
Meanwhile both parties are awaiting a date for a High Court hearing over whether the proposed mosque land should revert to council ownership after the association lodged a request to appeal a judge's decision earlier this year, in favour of the council reclaiming it.
