Council rejects settlement offer in dispute over land earmarked for mosque

A council in the West Midlands has rejected an out-of-court settlement from a local muslim association in a dispute over land earmarked for a mosque.

The Cabinet at Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council made the decision on 17 August after receiving a report from its Overview and Scrutiny Management Board.

The board held a two-day hearing to determine whether the £325,000 settlement offer for land in Hall Street should be accepted or court litigation should continue.

The Court of Appeal is expected to hear in October this year the Dudley Muslim Association’s appeal against a High Court ruling in the council’s favour.

The board’s decision to reject the offer was unanimous. Its report, however, did acknowledge the need for a replacement mosque for the current, not-for-purpose building in Castle Hill.

The council said an action group would now be established “in a bid to swiftly resolve the long-running dispute and report back to the cabinet by the end of the year on their work to find an appropriate site for the new building”.

Dudley’s Leader, Cllr Pete Lowe, said: “This has been an open and transparent process throughout which has allowed us to make a very clear decision on this. Making an informed decision was key to this and I would like to thank the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board for the way they have looked into this.”

The creation of the new action group, which will include members of all political groups and the Dudley Muslim Association, has been called for by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board.