Brighouse wedding venue faces possible demolition

Calderdale Council has called for an extension at Casa, in Brighouse, to be demolished

An inquiry has begun into whether a hotel's three-storey function suite should be demolished because it is in breach of planning rules.

Calderdale Council says the wedding venue at Casa Hotel and Restaurant, in Brighouse, is a "discordant feature" and "harmful" to its rural location.

It has issued an enforcement notice ordering the extension be torn down.

However, hotel owner Castelite says it is "unnecessary and inappropriate" to demolish the building.

The inquiry is expected to last four days.

An application to build a two-storey extension was approved by Calderdale Council in 2009.

However, a second application for a larger extension, submitted after the work had been completed in May 2014, was rejected and an enforcement notice was issued.

Castelite is appealing against the refusal and the enforcement notice.

The company maintains that "very special circumstances" relating to the 2009 approval still applied to the 2014 application and that the council was "well aware of the updated plans".

The council, however, says the building is "inappropriate" in the Green Belt and that the "harm caused by this development is considerable".