High Court ruling quashes Shropshire broiler unit plans

Opponents to a new broiler shed in Shropshire have welcomed a High Court ruling that overturned planning permission previously granted by the local council.

Planning approval for the 200,000-broiler unit at North Farm, Felton Butler, had been granted by Shropshire Council, but was challenged shortly after by local campaigner and River Action board member Dr Alison Caffyn, supported by River Action.

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Judge Michael Fordham ruled on Tuesday (17 June) that while Shropshire Council properly assessed the effect of spreading manure on land, it had failed to consider the impact of spreading digestate as fertiliser.

The judgment quashes Shropshire Council’s planning decision, and the council has been ordered to pay River Action’s legal costs of £35,000.

Commenting on the result, Dr Caffyn said: “This case is a win for communities across the UK who are standing up to the environmental degradation caused by industrial farming.”

A spokesperson for Shropshire Council said they acknowledge the judgment and will now “take some time to study it and consider its implications”.

Emma Dearnaley, River Action’s head of legal, commented: “For too long, councils like Shropshire have been rubberstamping intensive livestock farms without fully considering the damage they do to the surrounding environment.”

Ms Dearnaley added that there were already too many chickens in areas like the Severn, with rivers “choking on chicken muck”.

The campaigners suggested the River Severn could end up like the River Wye, which is suffering from high levels of phosphate pollution, which they say is linked to a high density of poultry farming in the catchment.