COUNCIL health bosses have expressed grave doubts about plans to burn tallow at Nightingale Hall Farm. Fats and Proteins have applied for permission to burn tallow -a by product of their rendering processes - to fuel the factory's steam boilers in a six-week trial. But councillor Jerry Sutton said he did not want to encourage new operations at the factory despite positive environmental spin offs of the plans.

He explained: "We have got to be very careful of authorising any development of the processes at Fats and Proteins, some serious questions have to be asked. I think the main issue is that Lancaster City Council continues to be concerned with the fact that the plant needs relocating."

Campaigners fighting to stop five incinerators being installed at the plant - designed to meet the Government's BSE cull - say if permission goes ahead it will send out the wrong messages to factory bosses.

Leading campaigner Sue Paylor said: "It is the thin end of the wedge, next they'll have the incinerators installed. If the council is going to accept these plans I think the Lancaster community will feel betrayed."

So far there have been no reports to assess potential health risks from burning tallow but it is widely believed that incineration alone, is not enough to remove possible BSE infections. In the past tallow was sold to the chemical and pharmaceutical industry but this was cut short following the BSE scare.

Now, Fats and Proteins says it wants to use tallow to fuel their steam boilers instead of transporting in heavy fuel to do the job. They claim it would cut down on the number of heavy goods vehicles travelling to the site, close to homes and schools.

Lancaster's MP Hilton Dawson echoed the views of the campaigners. He said: "I think the City Council should not be assisting the factory to develop its operations further.

"I would like the council to weigh up the environmental effects of the plans. If Nightingale Hall Farm wants to run the factory more efficiently they should relocate it. I am committed to working with Nightingale Hall Farm, the local authority and residents to see the removal of the factory from that site."

The matter will go before members of the Environmental Health and Cleansing Service Group tomorrow afternoon. It is likely it will be referred to the council's policy making committee and the County Council for further discussion.

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