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05
Jun
Plans to create mega chicken farm near Ripon to be called-in
Plans to create a mega chicken farm near Ripon that will produce 2.7 million birds to eat each year have been ‘called-in’ by a North Yorkshire councillor.
The move means the planning application will be determined by a committee of elected councillors in public rather than privately by a single, unelected council officer.
Conservative councillor Nick Brown, whose Wathvale & Bishop Monkton division on North Yorkshire Council includes the site at Melmerby earmarked for six, 126-metre long poultry houses, instigated the move.
Cllr Brown told the Stray Ferret:
“I’m going to get it called-in so it will be fully discussed by the planning committee.”
He added he was unable to comment on the merits of the application because it could prejudice his role as a planning committee member.
But he said he will “listen and observe” at a public meeting on Tuesday called to discuss the application and would “take any concerns fully into account” when voting on whether to approve the application.
Cllr Brown added he was concerned that the planning application contained a “lot of technical jargon” that people found difficult to understand and he would seek “plain English” explanations.
Boost for scheme
Today (June 5) is the council’s deadline for public comments on the scheme.
So far, it has received 47 objections and one expression of support from the public.
However, the scheme received a boost this week when the Environment Agency said it had no objections.
Its consultation response said:
The applicant operates several poultry sites in the area, and all sites have a good compliance history. Having read the documentation provided in reference to the erection of a poultry farm comprising six poultry houses and associated infrastructure, we have not identified any major environmental concerns.
18,000 signatures
The campaign group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent out a press release today claiming 18,000 “local residents and other concerned members of the public” have signed a petition urging the council to reject the application.
It said it was unable to share any details of the petition because of data protection rules.
Kate Werner, senior campaigns manager at PETA, said:
“PETA is calling for this plan to be scrapped to spare birds from a lifetime of suffering and a terrifying death.”
The Stray Ferret was the first to reveal plans by Forest Poultry Ltd to develop the broiler poultry rearing unit at Underlands Lane in Melmerby.
The poultry houses 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.
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”.
The Stray Ferret has attempted to contact Forest Poultry Ltd.
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