Councillors will once again rule on a planning saga that has been running for nine years.

Casa Hotel and Restaurant in Brighouse will return to Calderdale’s planning committee tomorrow (Tuesday) seeking consent for a three-storey extension that has already been built and is in use.

But it may still not end tomorrow – as Calderdale councillors have been advised to permit but refer it to the Secretary of State due to the size of the venue in the green belt.

Council planning officers accept the development is “inappropriate” in the green belt, but now argue there are “very special circumstances” – economic benefits including jobs – which mean the application can be permitted.

But it was something councillors disagreed with in May when they rejected the latest application.

Casa, which employs nearly 90 staff, has been battling Calderdale’s planning department since 2008.

Two years ago a planning inspector backed Calderdale and gave Casa nine months to demolish part of the premises on Elland Road, which the council issued an enforcement notice so it would be knocked down.

Last year Casa won a High Court challenge that quashed the enforcement order, allowing it to re-apply for retrospective planning.

The re-application was rejected with councillors saying it has a “significantly greater impact on the openness of the green belt.”