Chicken farm approved despite local opposition

Plans for a chicken farm in Lincolnshire have been approved despite environmental concerns.

RH-J Farms had applied to build four poultry units on land north-east of Grange Farm Yard, in Toynton St Peter, near Spilsby.

Communities Against Factory Farming (CAFF) submitted a formal objection to the proposal, raising concerns about the impact on the environment and the welfare of the chickens.

However, at an East Lindsey District Council planning committee meeting on Wednesday, the application was approved subject to conditions.

CAFF said many residents had approached it with worries, including over noise and odour, and it also had concerns about the conditions the chickens would be housed in, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Councillors heard that Toynton St Peter Parish Council also objected to the application because of concerns about road safety and a lack of drainage, as well as the potential noise and odour.

But applicant Alistair Hall-Jones said all transport would arrive directly from the A16 and not through Toynton village.

He added: "The risk of pollution to water courses or odour from the chicken manure will be limited because it will go in covered lorries to a power station to generate renewable electricity.

"It will not be stored on site or spread on the land."

Committee member Robert Watson said: "We should all be thinking of moving to a diet that is richer in plants than animals. I think at some point we have to start making a stand against this."

But Neil Jones said the plans had "passed all the criteria" and said he was satisfied the concerns raised would be mitigated.

He added: "We've got all these statutory organisations and consultees that have done an awful lot of work on this and it passed all the criteria.

"We have to do this on planning considerations, not on moral considerations or on political considerations, or whether this is right or wrong."

According to the LDRS, Hall-Jones said chicken sheds were vital for food security.

"As a food production industry, we need to invest in modern, efficient units such as this to be able to feed our growing population without reliance on foreign produce," he said.

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