Egg farmer says 'it doesn't end here'

A farmer bidding to build a 40-acre free-range egg laying unit for 16,000 hens near Lilleshall today expressed disappointment that councillors had spiked his plans.

Gnosall-based dairy and arable farmer Richard Tomkinson vowed "it doesn't finish here" after Telford & Wrekin Council refused outline planning permission for the scheme.

Now he says he will take stock of the situation.

Mr Tomkinson, 33, said: "I'm very disappointed but I'm not going to say what we are or aren't going to do next.

"The environment is the first thing on our minds as well as everybody else's which is why we included measures to soften the unit's impact.

"It would have created a mix of about five full and part time jobs which we would have recruited for from the local vicinity.

"We're not just going to give up overnight. We are entitled to make a living just like anybody else."

He added that the plans, a diversification scheme after the closure of Shropshire's sugar beet factory, had been carefully devised to minimise the impact on residents living nearby.

"While I can appreciate some people are scared by plans for new buildings near their homes, it wasn't rejected for very sensible reasons," he said.

The unit, measuring 116m by 18m, would have stood on land he owns next to Kynnersley Drive at Honnington Grange on the outskirts of Lilleshall.

It would have involved a hut to house the hens and a centre for collection and packing of the eggs.

The project was recommended for approval by planning officers but the borough plans board unanimously rejected the bid on Wednesday.

Council leader Andrew Eade called the plans "intrusive" and explained 40-plus letters of objection had been received.

Councillor Ian Fletcher said the unit would cause a nuisance for residents unless developers could "train the chickens to graze quietly and at night".

More than 20 opponents who attended the meeting applauded when the vote went their way.They had concerns about noise, smells, traffic, vermin and changes to the landscape.