Casa Brighouse: Yorkshire wedding venue accused of sewage pollution agrees to 'compromise' and partial closure in court

The council had applied to Bradford Magistrates Court for a closure order for the business, owned by Jack McDaid, as a result of a complex dispute over sewage pollution at their premises.

Issues began in December, when a misconnected pipe at Casa began to pump waste into Freeman’s Cut, a water skiing lake behind the venue on Elland Road.

The council then alleged that McDaid ignored enforcement notices ordering him to repair the leak, and took legal action to seek costs from him.

Bradford magistrates heard the case on April 5, but after negotiations between both parties’ legal representatives, a ‘compromise solution’ was presented to the bench rather than the full closure the council had initially pursued.

The function suite at Casa, which hosts weddings, will be closed until April 14 at 6pm, and remedial engineering works to the pipe must be completed by this date. An inspection will then take place at the site.

The magistrates agreed to sign the order. A contested trial was averted and no costs were awarded.

Mr McDaid’s solicitor Graham Gouldsborough said: “We have been trying to resolve this matter since December. The damaged chamber is not on their (Casa’s) land. There has been a great deal of loss for the business.

“This is a compromise position and we have taken a pragmatic approach. The order applies to the function area, not the main restaurant and bar, which have other toilet facilities that drain into the public sewer.

“There is an agreement with Yorkshire Water, but it took weeks of effort. The ‘problem’ sewer is one of theirs.

“Our civil contractors are confident that the work can be completed by April 14 and it has already started.”

Yorkshire Water have now approved an application from Mr McDaid for the remedial connection work.

Mr McDaid was accompanied to and supported in court by three of his neighbours, including a local farmer and landowner.

Both he and his solicitor have claimed that the root of the dispute is a ‘collapsed’ manhole on the water ski club’s land that had not been recognised by Yorkshire Water. They allege that the Casa pipe connection was damaged when this chamber failed.

Mr McDaid says he has offered to meet the costs of a new manhole which will connect to an existing, functioning manhole also located on the water ski club’s land.

His solicitor added that Mr McDaid accepts the drainage problems were caused by the manhole’s collapse, and that the leakage now drains into a cesspit tank which is emptied regularly.

Speaking after the hearing, the businessman said: “We have now got approval from Yorkshire Water, but we are not happy with this desire to shut a business down. We are happy to comply with the order and we are working to make it happen.

“This problem is not of our making or on our land. A single inspection would have verified that.”

Yorkshire Water said: “Since the issue at Casa Brighouse first emerged, we have been closely involved with all parties and provided advice to Casa Brighouse as to the steps required to be taken by them. We have no evidence to suggest this sewer is a public sewer and therefore the responsibility of Yorkshire Water. Casa Brighouse was closed by Calderdale Council as a result of discharging sewage to public land and the business will now be conducting work to legally and safely connect into the sewer network after we progressed its application to do so as soon as possible, to prevent further sewage discharges.”

Calderdale Council’s director of public services Ian Day said: “Our enforcement action against Casa has always had one main aim – to protect the community and the environment from the negative impact of sewage flowing from the business into the water. We wanted to stop the issue and prevent any further harm being caused.

“The court’s decision to grant a Closure Order is recognition that Casa has responsibility for the nuisance caused by the discharge of sewage from its premises, and it backs up all the action we’ve taken. It means that use of all facilities connected to the defective drainage pipe is now prohibited until 14 April.

“We are pleased that our application for a Closure Order was successful, as it places a legal duty on the business to stop the immediate harm, and it takes the situation a step closer to a permanent solution to put an end to the nuisance for good.

“We will continue to visit the premises daily to ensure the Order is being complied with. This will include inspecting the pipe to ensure no sewage is being discharged.”