Councillors are being accused of ‘failing to consider residents’ when they discuss planning applications from a divisive factory.
Planning applications passed by Westmorland and Furness Council for the Penrith-based Omega Proteins animal-rendering plant have been opposed by an environmental campaign seeking to end the so-called ‘Penrith Pong’ the factory is alleged to cause.
Last year there were 1367 odour pollution reports to the Environment Agency from the Penrith area.
The source of the odour is highly controversial, and disputed, with Westmorland and Furness Council’s environmental health team currently investigating to establish if any constitute a statutory nuisance.
However, earlier this month the council’s Eden area planning committee approved proposals from Omega Proteins to construct a heat network that would connect the applicant’s site, Sewborwens Farm and Newton Rigg Estate.
Jeff Thomson of the Fresh AIR for Penrith campaign, and former Penrith Town Council Independent ward representative, said: ”We have long been calling for a review of this site’s planning processes.
“Rather than the individual, piecemeal, planning applications, we need to see a big picture planning process.
“The site is on the edge of Penrith, backed by the Lake District National Park, and is already heavily industrialised with chimney stacks, vapour plumes and increasing heavy transport movement.
“Councillors seem happy to go along and listen to Omega Proteins, but they fail to listen to, or consult with, local residents.
“We want councillors who make planning decisions to have spoken to both sides, listened to both opinions and take a balanced decision - they are not doing that.
“They do not consult with local people, fail to hold ward surgeries and make decisions without assessing the impact of their decisions on the local community and environment.”
He claimed the council’s actions over planning, and the ‘failure to consult with residents’, show the council to be biased in their decision-making, and called for a review of their community-consultation procedures.
A Westmorland and Furness Council spokesperson said all planning applications ‘must be assessed on their individual merits in line with planning law and guidance’.
All Omega Proteins applications are referred to the council’s planning committee for determination, and a written report for each one is made and circulated to committee members a week in advance of meetings, they added.
They said site notices are displayed outside the site and notification letters are sent to nearby residents, with anyone interested entitled to provide written comments for consideration within 21 days, the ‘legally required time’, but the council added that they accept comments received after this time and before a decision is made.
This is something they said will continue and the council remains unbiased in its decision making.
On their current investigation into the site, they said: “We expect to be able to conclude the investigation by the end of September.
“If a statutory nuisance is identified through the investigation, the council will take appropriate further action such as serving abatement notices.
“Any complaints about odour in Penrith should be directed to the Environment Agency, on their 24-hour incident hotline, 0800 80 70 60, to enable investigations to be undertaken.”
A spokesperson from Leo Group, Omega Proteins’ parent company, said: “We follow regulatory body directions and apply for the correct permissions as and when required.
“It is the council’s responsibility to undertake public consultation when a planning application is made, normally that involves notifying immediate neighbours.
“All planning applications are publicly available on the council’s planning portal.
“Residents who wish to comment on a proposal can do so on the portal or by writing to the council.
“There are circumstances in which community consultation is required, as explained in the council’s July 2023 planning application validation guidance notes.
“None of the current applications submitted by Omega Proteins required pre-application community consultation to comply with the Council’s planning validation requirements.”
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