Tewkesbury chicken farm expansion plan approved

The chicken farm opened in 2014 with 200,000 capacity

A chicken farm is set to expand in size and be able to house a total of 560,000 chickens despite ongoing concerns about "disgusting smells" and noise.

Starveall Farm near Tewkesbury opened in 2014 with enough capacity for 200,000 birds and has had approval to expand its capacity by another 360,000.

Planners said the development would "bring the UK closer to being self-sufficient in poultry meat".

The scheme also includes feed bins, solar panels and biomass boilers.

According to council documents, Oxenton Parish Council said: "Periodic highly offensive smells drifting south westward in the prevailing winds affect both our villages (Woolstone and Oxenton).

"Residents are already concerned about disgusting smells drifting in this direction from Starveall activities and have previously complained to the council."

'Benefits outweigh harm'

Ashchurch Parish Council said: "The smell from the site currently invades the surrounding area and an expansion from four to 10 bins can only exacerbate this."

But in a report council officers said the "economic benefits outweigh the harm", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The report said: "Whilst the site is not adjacent to a settlement or existing buildings, given the nature of the proposal it is important that such a use is not sited close to residential properties.

"Whilst there would be some impacts on the area as identified, it is considered that the economic benefits of the proposal outweigh the harm in this case and the proposal is recommended for permission."

The scheme was approved by Tewkesbury Borough Council's planning committee earlier.