Protest fears force cancellation of super dairy meeting

Organisers have cancelled a public meeting to discuss plans for an 8000-cow dairy herd in Lincolnshire.

The meeting was due to be held in the village hall at Nocton on Monday (15 March).

If approved, the £50m super dairy will be home to 8100 cows, producing 250,000 litres of milk daily and employing 85 staff.

Villagers were to be given the chance to quiz bosses of Nocton Dairies, the company behind the proposal.

The community is divided. Supporters claim the plan will boost the rural economy in an area where decent jobs can be hard to come by while detractors highlight fears about animal welfare and the impact on the environment.

But the meeting was cancelled following concern that protesters would target the event.

A spokesman for Nocton Dairies said the company was still keen to meet local residents face-to-face to explain its plans.

Bosses hoped to hold a series of meetings with smaller groups of people over the coming weeks, he said.

More than 600 comments – most of them negative – have been posted on the website of the local authority considering the planning application.

Officials at North Kesteven District Council are expected to give their decision on the proposals by 3 May.

Similar to large dairy farms in the USA and Saudi Arabia, the Lincolnshire unit has already been more than two years in the making.

The planning application alone cost more than £160,000 and involved numerous trans-Atlantic trips.