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Render plant’s final hurdle

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Mayfield Farm is close to clearing the last official hurdle to starting a factory in Hopwood rendering up to 105 tonnes of animal parts each day.

Bromsgrove District Council has advertised its intention to grant a pollution control permit to the operators.

The application is now going through a period of statutory public consultation before approval.

It is the first time Mayfield Farm has been in the headlines since 2006 when it won a planning inquiry enabling it to erect the 17-metre chimney needed to meet the pollution control targets.

At that time around 1,000 letters of objection were received from people across The Village area who feared the effects of an expanded operation.

Campaigners and environmental health officials are now pinning their hopes on the tough legislation that will apply to operations at Mayfield Farm once the permit is in place.

Under the permit, Mayfield Farm will be able to process “lamb and poultry by-product” from 6am to 11pm everyday except Sundays and public holidays.

Very strict rules will apply to how the lorries arrive, how they enter the building through air locks to prevent odours escaping and how the unwanted byproducts from the “cooking” process will be treated to remove odours before the waste gases are ejected into the atmosphere from the chimney.

According to the draft permit, this will “ensure that there is no offensive odour perceived beyond the boundary fence”. As well as smell, the plant will be required to ensure noise pollution is minimised.

Jeremy Roberts, a spokesman for HARM (Hopwood Against Rendering Movement) told The Village: “This is a good thing if everything works.

“If you can’t see it, you can’t hear it, you can’t smell it and it’s not poisoning you, what’s the problem? It will be up to Bromsgrove District Council to enforce it and we will all be watching the council now to see them do this.”

Robin Goundry, the officer in charge of Bromsgrove’s pollution control team, told The Village that resources would be available to enforce the conditions of the permit, even in a climate of budget cuts.

“We have a statutory duty to do this; this is one area where you can’t make cuts,” said Mr Goundry.

He also confirmed that once activated, the permit would cover all activities within the perimeter of Mayfield Farm.

See also The Village View