Chicken farm looks to expand

Under the plans, 320,000 chickens would be housed at the site at any one time

A £3.5m plan has been lodged to allow a chicken farm to house 120,000 more birds in the Shropshire countryside as it adopts "higher welfare standards".

If approved, four more units would be created at Roden Poultry Farm in the village of Roden, near Shrewsbury, which produces chickens for UK supermarkets.

The application submitted to Telford & Wrekin Council said the development would give each bird more space while also increasing the total number of birds to 320,000.

"Due to pressure from the population, UK supermarkets have made a commitment to adopt higher welfare standards on poultry farms," said planning agent Ian Pick.

"It is now of strategic importance for UK food security that more poultry houses are developed to enable the adoption of the higher welfare standard."

The Roden site rears broiler chickens from day-old chicks to "finished table weight".

Under the plans, the capacity of four sheds already in use would reduce from 200,000 birds to 160,000 birds between them.

The four new sheds would also house 160,000 birds between them, bringing the total on-site capacity to 320,000.

The site on Roden Lane currently houses 200,000 chickens

The application said there would be an increase in traffic, from 517 trucks visiting the site each year to 806, which could "easily be accommodated" on the local highway network.

Only one extra member of staff would be employed, bringing the total to three, but the application said the local economy would benefit.

"The proposed development involves an investment in buildings and infrastructure by the applicants of approximately £3.5 million," it explained.

Chicken manure will be removed from the site for disposal via biomass power stations.

Drainage engineers at the council have lodged an objection to the plans because of a shortage of information on surface water drainage.

A public consultation on the plans is running until 12 January.

Members of the public comment on the plans via the Telford & Wrekin Council planning portal.