A STATE-of-the-art system for cleaning up gasses at controversial Castle Cement looks set to get planning permission at County Hall.

The £5 million gas scrubbing plant is being built at the Clitheroe works to cut down pollution in the Ribble Valley.

Lancashire County Council chiefs are urging councillors to approve an application for the high-tech scrubber at a development control meeting.

Residents in the area claimed to have suffered from a series of breathing complaints which can be linked to gas emissions from Castle Cement.

And in a bid to improve the problems linked to the works, the company is planning to build the wet scrubber.

A report to the meeting said: "This would be the first wet scrubber installed at a cement works in this country and consequently the technology is complex. "The Environment Agency have evaluated the technology and considered that it represents the best available techniques not entailing excessive cost and the best environmental option."

Planning chiefs are recommending a series of tough conditions to control landscaping of the area around the works.

The councillors will also take a second look at the authority's legal position in the run-up to a High Court hearing centred on Castle Cement.

Protesters believe the firm should have planning permission for burning Cemfuel at the site and are taking their case to the courts. Planning bosses originally said permission was not needed but councillors are taking a second look at the situation.

The decision taken at the meeting is likely to have a major bearing on the outcome of the High Court hearing.

Councillors have a range of options to chose from including issuing an enforcement notice against Castle Cement and forcing the firm to submit a planning application.

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