MORE than 250 people packed into Huddersfield Town Hall last night to give their views on the Castle Hill Hotel saga.

Construction was dramatically halted in May after Kirklees Council officials discovered a new hotel was being built too high and too large.

Last night people got their chance to fire questions at council officials and developers the Thandi brothers.

The meeting was proof of massive public concern. People queued outside to get in. It should have been held in the reception room but was switched to the main concert hall. Clr Smithson, the council's deputy leader who chaired the meeting, said: "To put it simply, planning permission was given for a refurbishment of the Castle Hill pub which we were pleased with.

"But the problem is that what has been built so far is not what was agreed.

"The reason we are here is that the building has not been built as it should have been.

"We had no alternative but to put a stop notice on the building. The development as it stands is not acceptable."

After work stopped the Thandi Partnership put in a retrospective application covering the work already done. They appealed against the stopping order and a public inquiry is to be held.

Clr Smithson said the problem with the new application was that it was not a refurbishment of the old building, but an entirely new structure.

"Because this is protected green belt land only in very special circumstances can new buildings be built," he said.

"There is the possibility the structure up there now will have to come down and we will have to rethink things."

The Thandi Partnership's solicitor Jonathan Riley said the building should get the go-ahead because of the changes made. He said: "Alterations have been made to make the building smaller. They are going to reduce the number of bedrooms from 10 to eight. As for the old materials such as the stone, it was not fit to be used in the rebuilding."

A hostile crowd jeered Mr Riley and aimed questions at the Thandis, but they answered only through their solicitor.

Clr Smithson urged people to write to the planning inspectorate to outline their support or disapproval. A letter on how this should be done was handed out.