by Fiona Parker, Telegraph
Environment Agency calls activities at West Yorkshire plot ‘illegal’ as enforcement notice demands all materials be cleared
It was once home to allotments – but now a secluded site in West Yorkshire is at the centre of a planning row after the appearance of a shrine-like structure.
The construction, consisting of nine tall pillars on a marble base, is the subject of a council enforcement order requiring all materials to be removed.
Residents of Sowerby Bridge, near Halifax, reported seeing copies of the Koran, the central religious text of Islam, being buried next to the white monument.
Videos were also shared by Rest Gardens, a firm that collects worn-out or damaged Korans and provides them with an Islamic burial, to avoid their common disposal along with other waste.
The Environment Agency has called for an end to the “illegal” burials at the site off Wood Nook Lane.
Documents seen by The Telegraph describe how Calderdale council “considers that the harm caused to the character and appearance of the area by the unauthorised development” is such that it is “expedient” to issue an enforcement notice.