Shropshire planners reject chicken expansion plans

- Published: 03 June, 2010

Planners have rejected two developments in Shropshire that would have housed almost half a million chickens.

Farmer John Warner had applied to Shropshire County Council to erect four broiler units, housing 175,000 chickens on a two-and-a-half acre site at Great Ness near Shrewsbury.

In a separate application, G C Davies and Co, of Little Ness, applied to build five broiler units covering three acres and accommodating almost a quarter of a million chickens.

The Council for the Preservation of Rural England (CPRE) had opposed the developments saying there were already a significant number of broiler units in the region.

A CPRE spokesman commented after the decision: “Planners made the right decisions to protect what they say is the county’s greatest asset – its natural and historic environment. The proposed sheds were far too large for the location.

“The units would have led to unacceptable overnight traffic through tight country lanes and tranquil villages. Neither applicant had managed to satisfy environmental rules.”

John Warner had put in the application when his sugar beet business was badly hit by the closure of a nearby sugar beet processing plant.

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