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Jun
Fresh concerns over Ripon mega chicken farm
Melmerby Parish Council has objected to plans to create a mega chicken farm near Ripon that will produce 2.7 million birds to eat each year.
The Stray Ferret revealed last week Forest Poultry Ltd has submitted plans to North Yorkshire Council to develop a broiler poultry rearing unit at Underlands Lane, Melmerby.
The company wants to build six, 126-metre long poultry houses that would rear 7.5 flocks of 360,000 chicks each year.
Forest Poultry claims the proposed development “represents a sustainable and policy-compliant form of agricultural development within a suitable rural location” and will reduce dependency on imported chicken.
The council consultation has attracted 12 objections so far ahead of the deadline on Friday (June 5).
The latest objectors include the parish council, which said “a large number of residents” attended a meeting on May 21 at which the plans were discussed and “all but two objected”.
The parish council’s concerns include the proximity of the site to the village, loss of agricultural land, noise, the effect on air quality and possible ammonia smells when the sheds are decontaminated every 38 days.
Tony Serjeant, the council’s principal ecologist, said he has no objection subject to various concerns being addressed.
He explains:
I have concerns regarding the potential impact of the development on certain farmland bird species. No bird survey has been conducted to inform the environmental statement and no records obtained from the local records centre concerning species that might be present. There is anecdotal evidence that the area around Melmerby supports a range of threatened farmland bird species such as Skylark, Corn Bunting, Grey Partridge and Lapwing - all of which are ground-nesting, favouring open habitats with sparse tree cover.
Given that proposals remove arable habitat and include a significant element of tree-planting it is predictable that the land will become largely unsuitable for these species. It is conceivable that a combination of off-site and on-site mitigation measures could minimise the impacts to the extent that they become acceptable.
Air quality
Natural England said “the potential for air quality impacts arising from this development needs to be assessed”.
The scientific team at the council’s environmental health department said the key environmental considerations were contaminated land, odour, air quality and ammonia emissions, dust, traffic, noise and waste handling.
It added: “These impacts are typically capable of being effectively managed through appropriate design, operational practices, and regulatory control measures.”
A design and access statement in support of the plans says the operation would “facilitate the efficient and sustainable production of broiler chickens for the UK food supply chain”.
It adds overseas poultry now accounts for 25% of UK consumption, with most imported birds coming from Thailand, Poland and Brazil, and the proposed development “responds to a clear and evidenced national need to increase domestic poultry production capacity within the United Kingdom”.
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