Planning for two poultry farms revealed

Plans for two major new poultry units in Shropshire have been revealed.

Harrison Farms has applied for planning permission to establish six units, housing 300,000 broiler birds at a site near Market Drayton.

It is estimated that the unit would produce in excess of 5,000 tonnes of meat from 2.4 million birds a year.

The proposal includes a biomass boiler system and is expected to create a substantial number of new jobs.

The applicants said: “The proposal is a sustainable economic development that will contribute positively to the UK poultry sector.

“The development will also be contributing to the local economy through feed and building contracts and veterinary employment.”

Guy Maxfield, agent for Harrison Farms, told Poultry World that an Environmental Impact Assessment had been carried out.

He added: “In our pre-application survey we asked local residents in the area for their views and we encountered almost no objectors.”

Meanwhile just 25 miles north in Little Ness, another application has been submitted, for three rearing sheds at Foxholes Farm buildings, which could house approximately 150,000 birds, if permission is granted.

Applicants GC Davies and Co, from Red House Farm, said the development would have no social impact, because its scale was the same as other units in the area.

Last July, plans to build five poultry units housing almost 250,000 chickens in the same area were thrown out by government inspector Gyllian Grindey, due to concerns over traffic and the impact of the site on local residents and the environment.

Both applications are now being considered by Shropshire County Council.