Guernsey slaughterhouse plan submitted

Proposals for building a new slaughterhouse in Guernsey at a cost of more than £1m have been submitted to planners.

The current facility in St Peter Port is due to close as it cannot be upgraded to meet changes to health and safety regulations.

The Commerce and Employment Department said it hoped to have the facility up and running during 2012.

The final cost will only be known when the tender process has been completed.

The department said in a statement: "The specifications for the new facility are such that it will allow cattle of any age to be handled and for the meat to be capable of being exported, having been processed in a facility that reaches EU standards.

"The plan is for the new slaughterhouse to be located alongside the existing cattle carcass incinerator [at Longue Hougue], where it will occupy a similar footprint."