IT has caused a stink for years now people in the Ridge, Freehold and other parts of East Lancaster are celebrating the news that Nightingale Hall Farm is to close permanently.

The Fats and Proteins UK rendering plant has been controversial for decades.

But now owners Glenfarm Holdings have decided to close down after a serious fire ripped through the Quernmore Road plant on October 31 last year.

Some 35 jobs will be lost and Claire Thompson, group chief executive of Glenfarm Holdings, says: "We have reached this decision following lengthy consideration of all the factors affecting our business in Lancaster.

"This included the extensive damage caused by the recent fire at the site, as well as the many changes affecting the rendering industry and farming as a whole. Our greatest regret is the impact on our staff at Fats and Proteins UK, all of whom have given loyal service to the company. The Glenfarm board will consider its options for the further development of its Lancaster site over the coming months."

But the news of the closure has been welcomed by residents and councillors alike.

Lancaster City Council leader Cllr Ian Barker has been one of the site's biggest critics and says: "Residents will be delighted that the plant is to close. For years it has emitted smells that have made it impossible for local people to enjoy their homes and gardens in the summer and which have disrupted the education of children in local schools.

"Despite the many improvements there have been over the years, due to persistent campaigning by local people and pressure from the city council, they have never been able to run the plant without periodic outbreaks of disgusting smells. In addition there have been two serious fires in recent years.

"Of course one is concerned for people who will lose their jobs, but the fact is that this is a plant that should never have been sited so close TO A residential area. It will end a long-standing nuisance to local residents."

He points out that the owners blame both the recent fire and changes affecting the rendering industry for the closure he believes that means that they were having difficulty meeting new standards for pollution control at the plant.

"They were still negotiating with the city council over many details of the equipment and management of the plant. Clearly they have decided that they cannot afford to rebuild the plant to meet the higher standards that are quite rightly being demanded of them."

The plant averaged a stunning 400 complaints each year to Lancaster City Council, with most in relation to the smells.

Green Party Cllr John Whitelegg is also delighted with the news but says it almost feels unreal'.

"One of the reasons I became a councillor was to tackle this issue and now it has been closed people will be dancing in the streets as word spreads. We have lived within the area and close to the smell for 30 years. You can't begin to describe what it has been like.

"People have been vomiting in their gardens in the summer and schoolchildren couldn't be taught or run about outside. This is the best news in 30 years for the area and it will make an enormous difference to peoples lives.

"We believe about 10,000 people and five schools lived close to the stink and it is hard to imagine something which could change their lives overnight like this."

Cllr Whitelegg adds: "I think this gets even more exciting when you think of what could happen with this site now. I would like to see low-cost housing and small businesses here."

The pupils of Christchurch School, on Derwent Road, made their own feelings known a board outside the school simply read Goodbye smell'.