Avoid political pointscoring on this

In response to the letter from Matthew Steeples (Citizen: March 18) - Mr Steeples should not get carried away over Nightingale Farm. After all, I think that we have achieved more in the past two years than the previous MP managed in 27. If Matthew checks his facts, he might recognise that I have always pledged I would work with ministers, Fats & Proteins, the city council and, above all, local people to seek the relocation of Nightingale Hall Farm. As a result of some painstaking work on all sides over the past two years, we have so far fended off the prospect of incinerators to burn the meat and the bonemeal mountain left from the Conservative's BSE fiasco, we have seen the city council zone the land for housing development, a public statement from Fats & Proteins that they would wish to relocate, a massive expression of local concern at the Public Inquiry into Fats & Proteins Environmental Authorisation. The company themselves, to their credit, have invested considerably in a new sewage system and we await the result of the efforts of so many of us to restrict odour to within the site boundary. Personally, I think that the proposed chimney will be a horrible eyesore but permission for it was granted by an Independent Inspector on the basis of considerable evidence that it would considerably dilute emissions from the site. Nightingale Hall farm is an important place of work for many locals, but it is now accepted on all sides that it is in the wrong location. I believe I have built up good working relationships with all the parties mentioned at both local and national level, and while no-one ever said that achieving the relocation of Nightingale Farm would be easy, I think we have made significant progress on a project which is absolutely necessary to enhance the quality of life in the city of Lancaster.