Concerns have been aired this week about the Omega Proteins factory on the rural outskirts of Penrith.
Company bosses have lodged plans for a massive new development in the eastern corner of the Greystoke Road plant.
A 3,100m square area, currently used as a lorry park and open storage, is the site for a proposed new anaerobic digestion facility for the company, sparking debate over whether it will make odour nuisances worse.
It would feature:
- Two 55ft digester tanks
- A 26ft tall processing and control building
- A 36ft tall biogas storage tank.
- A 19ft tall emergency gas flare in an enclosed stack
- A below ground gas pipeline to feed into the National Grid
While the company is going green, some are seeing red at the piecemeal expansion of the animal by-products processing plant.
Just this week, the company also won planning permission for a new 10-hectare solar farm, running to the size of around 24 football pitches. On Thursday, operations at the plant ground to a halt after it was hit by a power cut.
Parent company the Leo Group has described its new investments as part of its ambitions to become a “benchmark” business of its type.
But members of Penrith Town Council wrinkled their noses at the plan.
As a stakeholder in the planning application process, the town council debated its view on the digestion facility proposal at its meeting on Monday night.
Councillor Deborah Holden told the meeting: “To me it looks massive. I have seen these digesters on farms and if they are going to be more visible than what’s already visible from the national park and the AONB, then I would have reservations. I would suggest this is going to be a lot more visible.”
Jeff Thomson, who runs the Fresh Air for Penrith campaign, was recently elected to Penrith Town Council, having run for election on a “Penrith Pong” ticket.
He spoke as a member of the public and said the latest proposed development would amount to “three major industrial plants” all on one “overcrowded site”.
Mr Thomson argued that the digester facility should be treated as a “new” industrial use for the site and be refused by planners.
He said: “There is a strong case for anaerobic digester plants not being built near residential areas. They include risk of toxic spills and odour emissions. Odour emissions are already a major issue in this area and an AD plant will only add to the potential risk — methane, hydrogen sulphide and a range of other similar smelly compounds, all being released into the atmosphere.”
While the development is not within the national park, concerns were expressed that it could have a visual impact when seen from the Lake District, or from the North Pennines.
Officially, the firm has submitted a 56-page environmental and landscape impact assessment, which has checked the likely views of the new development from several different points.
It states that “views … from beyond 2.5km will be at such distances that the proposals would form only a very minor proportion of the wider view and are barely perceptible to the casual observer.”
Councillor Paul Donald said he wanted more reassurances from the company about the development in case something went wrong and odours got out.
Councillor Charlie Shepherd said while biogas was a good thing, he did not like the look of the project.
And councillor Daniel Jayson said existing issues at the plant were causing a concern and these should be addressed before any new development was permitted.
The town council’s concerns include that the new development adds to the scale and massing of the site and that the company had not provided information about how the proposed development may mitigate or potentially add to odour nuisance.
A decision about the development will be made by Westmorland and Furness Council, with input from the Environment Agency.
The company plans to “amend” the way effluent is treated onsite so that biogas can be harvested from waste water and power part of the site’s operations.
Effluent will pass through the new facility and then be converted to biogas, leaving clear water to be sent to the site’s existing effluent treatment plant for any remaining contamination and nutrient content to be treated before it is re-used on site, or discharged to the sewer.
Anaerobic digestion involves plant and animal materials being broken down in a process involving a mix of methane and carbon dioxide.
A spokesman for the Leo Group, which owns and operates the Omega Proteins site, said it had been undertaking major investment at the site with the vision of building a state-of-the-art, environmentally-friendly rendering plant that can be used as a benchmark.
“The decision by Penrith Town Council, which has only an advisory role, to object to our recent planning application appears to be based primarily on the size and scale and the potential visual impact, which was not clearly evident from the plans submitted.
“This gives us the opportunity to submit additional material, such as 3D renderings or photomontages, to clarify the visual impact so that Westmorland and Furness Council, which as the planning authority has the final say, can make a more informed decision at its next planning committee meeting.”
“AD plants convert organic materials into biogas, which is a versatile renewable fuel.
“It can be used to power vehicles, generate heat and electricity and be fed into the national grids to supply homes and businesses. An AD plant would therefore be another building block in our efforts to become carbon neutral.”
