A TWO day court battle surrounding the long-running Dudley mosque saga will start today (Wednesday).

The outcome of the hearing, to be held at the Court of Appeal in London, could spell the end of the Dudley Muslim Association's plans to build a replacement mosque and community centre on land off Hall Street.

Following legal action Dudley Council won the right to buy back the land from the DMA in 2014 but the group appealed the decision through the High Court.

Earlier this year, in a bid to end the costly legal battle the DMA offered the council £325,000 for the land, although the settlement was refused by council bosses in favour of forming an action group to "exhaustively look" at alternatives sites for the mosque.

However as the DMA is convinced Hall Street is the only viable location, it is ploughing ahead with legal proceedings to appeal the High Court decision.

If the DMA is unsuccessful, the land will be transferred back into council ownership.

Amjid Raza, spokesman for the DMA told the News that it was "disappointing" that a "positive outcome" could not be reached beforehand, adding: "We'll just have to see what the outcome is and take it from there."

A Dudley Council spokesman said the result would not be known until "one or two months after the hearing".