The owners of an animal rendering plant in Denholme have told government officers that Bradford Council has been “irrational” and “unreasonable” in its dealings with the company.

The Leo Group, which runs Omega Proteins at Earling Works, Half Acre Road, has written to the planning inspectorate to request a public appeal to decide how much involvement the Council should have in what happens on the site.

It has asked for a number of conditions currently imposed on the plant by the Council to be lifted.

If the appeal is successful, then the company would be much more free from Council scrutiny.

It says the Council’s interpretation of planning laws has been “novel and unique” and that it has been burdened with “unnecessary” conditions.

Omega Proteins has been the subject of controversy in recent years, with some residents of Denholme and Thornton complaining about smells emanating from the site, and HGVs laden with animal parts passing through the village.

The Council has imposed a number of restrictions on the company’s operations in the past, and last month the Leo Group tried unsuccessfully to lift them. These included a ban from building any machinery or buildings outside the main plant building without first seeking Council permission and no off loading of HGVs except inside plant buildings.

The Leo Group has now lodged an appeal with the Government in another attempt to have these conditions lifted.

The Council had argued that it needed to control what buildings were built on the site “in the interests of visual amenity and to ensure sufficient space is available for the manoeuvring of vehicles in the interests of highway safety.”

The appeal document points out that the plant is nearly 700 metres from a public road.