Plans for £6m chicken farm near university

The proposed farm would house 180,000 birds on land near Harper Adams University in Shropshire, under the plans

A proposed new £6m chicken farm with 180,000 birds would be used to help teach university students, according to a planning application.

The four proposed poultry units would be built on land near Harper Adams University, close to Newport, Shropshire.

Meese Farming, a Lilleshall-based firm, submitted the plans to Telford and Wrekin Council and a public consultation has begun on them.

The university itself "expressed strong support for the scheme", planning agent Ian Pick said, in his report for the council's planners.

Harper Adams will not build or run the farm but it favours the plans due to their "significant value as a teaching and research resource for both agricultural and veterinary students", he added.

The university specialises in agriculture and the rural economy.

The proposed farm includes a teaching facility and a viewing area which will be able to be used by students from schools, colleges, and universities, Mr Pick added.

Meese Farming also has a poultry unit at Deepdale Farm in nearby Chetwynd.

The university strongly supported the scheme, a planning agent said in his report

The proposed farm will see about £6m spent on the buildings and other facilities at the site, planning documents show.

The business will also need an Environment Agency permit in order to operate.

Meese Farming proposed that the water on its new site would drain through a sealed network, filter drains and filter strips "in order to minimise the risk of contamination to the final watercourse".

Their plans come as river campaigners in Shropshire and Herefordshire have in recent years called for action to protect local waterways from the potential effects of chicken farming and chicken manure.

Campaigners in June won a High Court battle to overturn planning permission for an industrial-scale chicken farm in Felton Butler, near Shrewsbury.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations.