Chicken farm row reaches High Court

The proposed farm would raise up to 230,000 chickens at a time

Campaigners will be taking on Shropshire Council in the High Court as a seven-year dispute over an industrial-scale chicken farm continues.

In May, the council gave permission for LJ Cooke & Son to build four sheds at Felton Butler, north-west of Shrewsbury, which would house up to 230,000 birds.

More than 1,000 people signed a petition opposing the plans, saying they were concerned about the impact on the environment and surrounding roads.

Dr Alison Caffyn, from Ludlow, has now been granted permission to challenge the council's decision in a judicial review.

Dr Caffyn, who is on the advisory board for the charity River Action, said the council failed to consider the impact that spreading manure from the chicken sheds could have on the River Severn catchment.

She said: "The chicken population has grown so much that there are now nearly 65 chickens for every person in Shropshire.

"The council has continued to grant planning permission for intensive poultry units across the county, despite increasing concern about the impacts on the Shropshire countryside and communities.

"Shropshire Council has not been properly assessing the impacts of all that extra manure and ammonia emissions on our rivers and special habitats."

Alison Caffyn says industrial agriculture in Shropshire is "unsustainable"

The application for the chicken sheds was first made in 2017 and was eventually granted in May after twice being deferred.

Shropshire Council said changes had been made to deal with earlier concerns about odour pollution and the number of lorries on the roads.

At the time, Peter Ellis, who lives near the site, said the quality of life for local people would suffer due to the development.

The judicial review will consider if the council considered the effects of spreading manure, the emissions from burning biomass and risks of groundwater pollution before granting permission.

"As part of the planning application process, technical advice was sought from consultees including the Environment Agency, Natural England and the council's Ecology and Public Protection teams," the local authority said.

"The proposed development would not result in any manure being spread on land. It would instead be transported off-site to an anaerobic digester or other suitable disposal or treatment facility."

A further request for the courts to review the council's consideration of the Habitats Regulations for protected sites was not granted.

Dr Caffyn and River Action say they plan to appeal that decision.

A study by Lancaster University found that more than 70% of the phosphate in the River Wye catchment came from agriculture

Scientists, including Dr Caffyn, believe that chicken manure is responsible for widespread pollution in rivers including the Wye and the Severn.

They have said phosphate in the muck and soil runs into the water when it rains, which causes algae.

Algae reduces oxygen levels in rivers and streams, which can stop plants and insects from growing, and reduce the food source for many endangered fish and mammals such as the Atlantic salmon, otters and kingfishers.

Earlier this year, the government won a legal challenge brought by River Action over pollution levels in the River Wye.

The campaign charity had argued that the Environment Agency had not been penalising farmers who it said had been spreading too much chicken manure on their fields.

In May, the High Court ruled that the EA and the UK government were implementing the law properly.

River Action said the neighbouring River Wye catchment had been devastated by the failure to enforce anti-pollution rules and that it was determined to help prevent similar ecological damage happening to the River Severn.

"By recklessly waiving through permission for ever more giant intensive poultry units, Shropshire Council is effectively pronouncing the death sentence on yet another iconic British river," said Charles Watson, from River Action.

"The construction of these giant unsustainable pollution clusters, with no due consideration being given of their cumulative environmental impact, cannot be allowed to continue."