Evenley chicken manure gas plant plan is rejected

Dozens of residents attended the planning committee meeting to show their strength of feeling

Plans for a plant that would have turned chicken manure into biogas have been rejected by a council.

The proposal would have covered nearly nine hectares (22 acres) of open countryside close to Evenley, in south Northamptonshire.

Residents said they were worried about traffic, harm on the scenery and odour.

The firm behind the plan, Acorn Bioenergy, said the site was needed to help "ensure our energy security" and tackle the "climate emergency".

According to the planning application, up to 90,000 tonnes of poultry manure, straw and maize from nearby farms would have been used to create biomethane.

The proposed site was to the east of the A43, close to the Barleymow roundabout between Evenley and Croughton - only 280m (920ft) from the closest group of homes.

The plant would have been close to the village of Evenley, near Brackley

When West Northamptonshire Council's Strategic Planning Committee considered the proposal, several residents told councillors about the effect the plant would have on them.

Alister Veitch, a director at Acorn Bioenergy, said the residents would not be able to smell any of the process of decomposing from the site boundaries.