Dudley mosque dispute cost will be almost £1 million

Dudley Muslim Association's plans were dealt a major blow after appeal court judges ruled in favour of Dudley Council's bid to seize back the land.

Officials from the association say they have already forked out more than £750,000 in legal and planning fees during the decade long bid.

But now they will be forced to cover the council's legal bill, thought to run into six figures.

• 2000 – Muslim leaders claimed they were approached by the council for a land swap deal after council bosses wanted their Claughton Road site.

• 2003 – A land swap deal was agreed for the DMA to receive land in Hall Street.

• 2005 – The outline planning permission was withdrawn by Dudley Muslim Association but sale of freehold agreed.

• February 27, 2007: Mosque scheme rejected

• July 17, 2008: Planning inspector reverses Dudley Council’s decision.

• January 1, 2009: Deadline for mosque to be ‘substantially built’ passes,

• July 16 and 17, 2009: The High Court overturns an appeal against the planning inspector’s decision by Dudley Council but states that a full planning application must be in by July 2011.

• April 3, 2010: Thousands of English Defence League supporters descend on Dudley for a protest.

• September 19, 2011: Dudley Council’s planning committee refuse the reserve matters application but do grant an extension to the outline planning permission for three years.

• January 2012: DMA submits new papers to the High Court.

• November 2015: Judges unanimously ruled in favour of the council and set January 2016 deadline for land to be handed back.

The Court of Appeal is yet to rule on the exact court costs the DMA will be forced to pay out after losing its legal bid.

Dudley Council confirmed in May that it had paid out £213,000 at that stage in legal costs associated with the court action.

DMA spokesman Amjid Raza said that costs were disappointing as it raised funds with the help of donations.

"It is the community that have helped towards this mosque and it is disappointing for them," he said.

"It is their dream and they supported us.

"With work on the planning applications and legal fees the costs are more around £750,000.

"We will be very careful about the next step that we take and will be holding discussions.

"We are not in a position to make a decision at the moment on sites and will instead take a holistic approach to it."

The DMA is investigating further legal avenues open to it regarding the site but talks are ongoing.

After a decade-long controversy, Court of Appeal judges unanimously ruled in favour of the council on Thursday.

Plans first emerged for the mosque to be built at the site back in 2003 as a replacement for Dudley Central Mosque in Castle Hill.

But the matter descended into a long-running dispute between the council and the DMA after a planning application was rejected in 2007.

This latest ruling, which comes after a two-day hearing held in London, states DMA must transfer the Hall Street land back to the council in January.

Dudley Council leader, Councillor Pete Lowe, said the authority now wanted to work again with DMA to find an alternative site for the mosque.

Three far right protests have been held in the town this year against the backdrop of the mosque proposals.

The most high-profile was held by members of the English Defence League.

Britain First and All Football Fans/Firms Against Islamisation also held demos in the town this year.