200,000-bird Shropshire chicken farm recommended for approval

Shropshire Council officers have recommended that plans for the four broiler rearing units Hopton Heath, Clungunford, are approved at the next south planning committee meeting, subject to conditions, despite almost 100 objections.

Philip Mann of Bedstone Growers has applied for the broiler rearing units, which will measure 109.73 metres by 24.5 metres and would each house 54,000 birds.

Each poultry building would have a control room, and there would also be stores, 10 feed bins and a biomass boiler house.

A new access to the B4385 would be created with a new access track and an area for parking and turning vehicles. The plans say that a noise assessment has been commissioned and the plans are now acceptable according to the pre-application advice.

Case officer Vincent Maher said in his report to the committee that the revised application is for 204,000 birds, changed from the original plan for 216,000.

He adds: "The proposal involves the growth of an existing cross county rural business.

"The odour study demonstrates that the impacts on nearby houses are acceptable. Noise studies show the activity on site would be acceptable and it has addressed the inspector’s concern at the recent appeal. Measurements of late night traffic counts in the area show that the proposal will not have a serious adverse impact on highway safety or the living conditions of local residents."

Jobs

The poultry units would create an extra two full time jobs on the site.

Clungunford Parish Council and a number of residents have objected to the plans.

The proposed chicken farm in Hopton Heath, Clungunford, was initially approved by Shropshire Council in 2014, before Clungunford Parish Council threatened to take the matter to High Court.

Shropshire Council’s legal team then told protesters that they would not put up a fight as there was 'some merit' in the complaints raised.

A year later the plans were resubmitted to the authority before being thrown out by the council’s south planning committee.

But the applicants appealed the decision which was thrown out by the Government appointed inspector earlier this year.

The south planning committee will discuss the plans at its meeting in Shirehall on Tuesday at 2pm.