Plan for South Witham super dairy farm dropped

Plans for a so-called super dairy close to a village in Lincolnshire have been dropped after opposition from residents in the area.

Plans for a super dairy farm have been dropped

Velmur, the firm that wanted to put almost 3,000 cows at South Witham near Grantham, said it had decided to withdraw the plan.

In a statement, the company said the scale of the plan was not "acceptable to people in the village".

Martin Wilkins, of the parish council, said people were pleased with the news.

In their statement, Velmur said: "The directors of Velmur and their advisers have, following their meeting with the South Witham Parish Council and the open meeting, reflected on comments raised at the meeting and the reaction of the village."

The firm said it considered that the case "for more intensive dairying" remains in the UK and added they thought the scheme could have met anticipated concerns of the village.

But the document continues: "Velmur had from the outset agreed to consult and listen to the views of the village.

"Access, the site and measures for slurry disposal could have minimised the impact of the scheme.

"The proximity of the site to the village however would not be acceptable to the village in the circumstances.

"The directors have agreed that they will not be taking forward a planning application for this site".

Parish council chairman Mr Witham said: "We're very pleased and the word is going around the village very quickly.

"But there is also a note of caution in as much as are they going to come back with a proposal somewhere else?

"Things are changing and possibly more intensive farming like this will be the future.

"However, what we're very concerned about is that at present there are no rules and regulations which govern factory farming for cows."

In April, proposals for a "super dairy" farm at Nocton, near Grantham, which would have been the largest in the UK, were withdrawn.

Nocton Dairies Ltd had submitted plans to North Kesteven District Council for an 8,100-cow dairy.

But they decided they wanted want more time to address technical issues in the proposals but intended to submit another application.