THE secretary of state will now decide a controversial planning application to increase the chimney height for a proposed animal carcass incinerator in Astwood Bank.

Bosses at Popes Lane By-Products have appealed because Redditch Council planners have failed to determine the application to increase the height from 8ft to 12ft.

The council's chief planning officer, John Staniland, said: "They have appealed because we have not given a decision within eight weeks of the application being submitted. For various reasons, we have not been able to do it.

"As the applicants have appealed, it will be treated as having being deemed refused by us.

"We will now have to submit comments to the planning inspectorate and state what our decision would have been if we had been the ones to have decided."

Mr Staniland said a final decision would take months and there might have to be a public inquiry.

Plans to operate a round-the-clock burner at the back of Astwood Bank First School were first revealed by the Advertiser almost two years ago.

The plan sparked widespread outrage from residents, who have fiercely campaigned against it.

In December 2002, the council refused an application for a licence to operate the burner.

At the time, Popes Lane By-Products lodged an appeal to the secretary of state but it was withdrawn three months before a public inquiry.

And now, following new legislation, any fresh application to operate the incinerator will be decided by the Environment Agency, not Redditch Council.