Casa takes extension demolition ruling to the High Court

The Casa Hotel and Restaurant on Elland Road was ordered by the Planning Inspectorate that it must take down its three storey extension after losing its planning against Calderdale Council.

However, Castelite Limited, Casa’s parent company, is set to appear in the High Court today to challenge the decision.

A Calderdale Council spokesperson said: “The decisions of the planning inspector were challenged on legal grounds by the Castelite Limited. The High Court will consider these challenges on Thursday February 18.”

Planning Inspector Ahsan Ghafoor ruled in favour of the council in September 2015 giving the owners nine months to take down the extension.

He said, on balance, the considerations advanced by the appellant in support of granting planning permission, whether taken individually or cumulatively, do not clearly outweigh the inappropriate nature of the proposed development in the green belt and the other identified harms.The report by Mr Ghafoor also outlined that, despite the Casa having planning permission in 2009 for a smaller extension, the extension cannot be reverted back to its original plans as the planning permission has expired and ‘nothing short of total demolition would achieve the notice’s purpose’.

A ruling was also made the development would have on negative impact on greenbelt land and would appear ‘out-of-keeping with the host building and the rural qualities of the surrounding countryside’.

Even though the inspector agreed there would be some social benefits, given the creation of a specially designed function suite and office space, the proposed expansion should not be at the expense of the environment.

Bosses at Casa Hotel and Restaurant in Elland Road, Brighouse , extended the premises by constructing a three-storey function suite which the company claimed would generate around 38 full-time and 50 part-time well paid jobs.