Charity steps into fight over Market Drayton pig farm plan

Lee Gilbert has submitted plans to Shropshire Council for a pig farm to be built on a plot adjoining Adderley Road, near Market Drayton.

The plans consist of two livestock buildings which would house around 2,000 pigs at a time, feed-bins and hard-standing for deliveries and muck removal.

But animal welfare organisation Viva has written an official objection to the plans, saying they pose a risk to human health and also raise environmental concerns.

Claire Palmer, campaigner for Viva, said it was objecting to the plans on behalf of local supporters who have expressed their concerns.

She said: "We feel that this is not a 'farm' as such due to its size.

"This site should be considered an industrial unit and other criteria should be taken into account.

"Intensive farming has often been cited as a breeding ground for disease. Having thousands of pigs in close proximity to residential areas is a potential health hazard.

"Importantly, the proposed pig houses would be located only approximately 450m to a widely-used important tourist destination and hotspot – the Shropshire Union Canal. This is a charmingly rural and isolated waterway which is used for tourists and locals alike so they can get close to nature."

Ms Palmer claims intensive pig farming increases the risk of swine flu and superbugs.

She said: "The pig houses are proposed to be around 450m from the Shropshire Union Canal.

"Pig farms are notoriously smelly – and these smells can carry for long distances dependent on the direction of the wind.

"This could also have a major impact on local residents in Market Drayton."

Ms Palmer added that in 2013, Shropshire Council rejected a similar pig farm that was proposed to house up to 2,000 pigs in two buildings in Upton Cresset near Bridgnorth.

She said the main concern of the locals was that the site would be too near the village, which was less than 500m away miles away, and this would have led to significant noise and air pollution.

Ms Palmer said both Market Drayton and the canal were also less than 500m away to the pig farm currently planned.

She added the plans would also put a significant amount of extra traffic on nearby roads.

The applicant Mr Gilbert has estimated there will be about two vehicle movements per day and said he has sought to ensure that the proposals would not have any unacceptable impact on neighbours. the environment or any other users of the local area.