Mosque gets go-ahead after appeal

A mosque and training centre costing £18 million could still be built in Dudley after an appeal was upheld by a planning inspector sparking accusations the views of thousands of protesters have been ignored.

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But there is still a chance the scheme, featuring a 65 feet minaret, will fail if it has not been "substantially" built by the end of the year.

The decision to allow the appeal for the project on land in Hall Street was announced yesterday following a public inquiry held in June.

One of the key arguments against the plan was the fact the site had been designated for employment use. But the planning inspector said there were plenty of other pockets of land in Dudley which could be developed for industry.

Council leader David Caunt has described the decision as a "sad day" for local democracy saying it ignores the 23,000 people who signed a petition in opposition.

He said: "Once again the views of local people and councillors have been ignored by a planning inspectorate in Bristol.

"It is a sad day for local democracy when the council and the people are ridden roughshod over by a government quango.

"We will be reviewing the decision in detail to ascertain whether there are legal grounds to challenge it."

Dudley Muslim Association which is behind the plan now has outline planning permission but still needs to submit a detailed application which the council has up to 13 weeks to determine.

When the site was transferred to the association in 2003 there was a legal agreement that if the project was not "substantially" completed by the end of this year the land would be returned to the council.

Council Caunt added: "I don't think there will even be a bucket and spade on the site by then.

"There is every chance this will end up in the courts because the association will not back down."

Mr Caunt added he would be writing to Hazel Blears and branding her white paper "Communities in Control" a joke.