May 11, 2018 9.33 am This story is over 70 months old

Plans to upgrade ‘Smelly Skelly’ factory

Competing animal rendering site plans.
Updated proposals for the Skellingthorpe animal rendering plant will see the community hub pictured above removed.

Owners of the animal rendering plant in Skellingthorpe have announced plans to invest £30 million to upgrade the facility and “minimise odours”.

Proposals for the existing plant, which has earned the village an unfortunate nickname of ‘Smelly Skelly’, have been lodged with Lincolnshire County Council and will now be subject to a 16-week consultation.

They were submitted by DS Developing for Jerusalem Farm, which is owned by The Leo Group.

If approved, the plant would be demolished to make way for a new facility with upgraded odour filters.

Four eco-homes would be built on the site, including one of the factory manager, and developers would incorporate a fishing lake, walking and cycling paths, as well as a public car park.

Click or tap to expand.

Next to the lake would be a community building to be used by groups and for education.

Additionally, owners would improve site access, including increasing the road width for lorries.

DS Developing’s planning application for the Skellingthorpe site has also been supported by a 850-page environment impact assessment, which promises that the development will “improve the current air and noise climate for Skellingthorpe residents”.

Current tenants of the site Lincoln Proteins Ltd previously announced they would be packing up their operations at the plant to instead build their own factory at Norton Disney – a move with has proved controversial with thousands of local residents. 

Their application was also submitted to Lincolnshire County Council this week. 

Photo: Jasper Weldon

A spokesman for DS Developing said: “The plans we are putting forward will totally transform the Jerusalem Farm site and, more importantly for residents, provide a realistic alternative to the proposals for a similar venture at Norton Disney.

“We have worked with a number of planning and environmental experts in drawing up the designs for the site. If we are granted planning permission the site will be run by a Leo Group company and there will be no job losses.”