Bid for 180,000-bird chicken sheds near Shrewsbury
A family farm business has tabled plans to build four large poultry sheds near Shrewsbury – housing up to 180,000 chickens.
J S Jones and Son want to construct the four chicken sheds as well as making changes to the access roads and installing feed bins and up to 200 solar PV panels at Aston Hall Farm, Westbury, near Shrewsbury.
Each broiler unit, which would have a control room at the front, will be up to 320ft in length and house about 45,000 birds.
The developers have sent letters out to more than 50 surrounding homes outlining the proposals and have described the poultry buildings as "low profile".
They said the process would allow them to produce affordable healthy meat and remain "commercially viable" for the future – and that the move was partly down to heavy rainfall in recent years hindering their yields.
In a letter to residents Delwyn Jones, 35, said: "The site has been selected principally to avoid lorries going through Aston Rogers and to minimise visual impact. The existing landscaping features will be enhanced by further planting.
"Broiler sheds (RSPCA approved) involve fattening young chicks for production of affordable healthy meat.
"The development will generate lorry movements to and from the site, particularly at the end of each crop cycle when the birds are collected. The application site has an existing gateway off the B4386, which will allow lorries access without needing to travel through Aston Rogers."
Mr Jones added: "The proposed development will complement our existing enterprises allowing the family farming business to be sustainable in the long term."
Highways council bosses have predicted the scheme would create a net extra six vehicle movements each day, but the developers said the majority of these journeys would take place between 7pm and 6am.
An environmental impact survey added: "The majority of lorry movements (feed deliveries and bird collection) would take place between 7pm and 6am which avoids peak road usage."
