A huge extension to a popular restaurant and wedding venue could be demolished if a planning inspector upholds Calderdale Council’s enforcement notice.
Bosses at the Casa Hotel and Restaurant in Elland Road, Brighouse, face a nerve-wracking wait of several months to see whether Ahsan Ghafoor agrees with their position after a four-day public inquiry began today - Tuesday - at Halifax Town Hall.
Castelite Ltd, Casa’s parent company, has extended the building by constructing a three-storey function suite which the local authority demands be torn down.
Castelite is appealing against the refusal of application for consent for the proposed extension and also against the enforcement notice.
Counsel for the company, Andrew Thomas QC, told the hearing which was attended by more than 30 members of the public, that upholding the enforcement notice would be disastrous for Casa.
He said: “The appellant submits that very special circumstances exist to justify this development.
“The appellant relies in particular on the following matters; this development has substantial economic benefits in terms of employment and the business is contributing in excess of £500,000 in wages to local employment.
“The development also makes a wider economic contribution to the community in respect of the expenditure on goods and services from local suppliers. The value is in the region of £750,000 per annum.
Take a tour around the controversial extension
“There are substantial indirect economic benefits, such as the support to local taxi businesses, florists and hotels by guests attending the venue. The impact on the Green Belt has been exaggerated and it is clearly outweighed by the employment and other economic benefits and by the considerable improvement which has been made to the previous ugly buildings.”
But Ian Ponter for Calderdale said: “The economic benefits associated with the appeal scheme, jobs and revenue generated for the local economy, fail to clearly outweigh that harm of encroaching on the Green Belt.
“Whilst the Appellant’s evidence advances detail about gross benefits (eg job numbers, salaries, and payments to suppliers), there is no assessment of net benefits.
“Without that information it is impossible to make any accurate assessment of the actual benefits associated with the scheme.”
