Parish council against new Shropshire chicken farm
Plans for a new poultry farm, which would house 76,000 birds, have failed to get the backing of the local parish council.
G & M Povall & Son farm land at Aston Munslow but, as the diary industry is ‘volatile’, are looking to diversify and set up a poultry rearing business, which they plan to call Valley View Poultry.
They have applied to Shropshire Council for permission to build two poultry sheds, that would house a maximum of 76,000 rearing birds.
The scheme is set to be considered at the next meeting of Shropshire Council’s south planning committee which meets at Shirehall on Tuesday and officers have recommended it for approval.
But the parish council believe the scheme is ‘large scale’ and is a significant development in the parish, which is close to the Shropshire Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
They argue that the sheds and associated feed silos, offices, road and yard will be visible from the slopes of Wenlock Edge and the Corvedale as well as from view points along the Three Castles Walk.
Parish councillors are also concerned that the sheds would be close to homes in both Aston Munslow and the neighbouring village of Munslow where there are more than 20 listed buildings.
They have highlighted that there are already 15 poultry farms within 4km of the parish boundary and are concerned that if permission to build the sheds is given, the site could then be easily expanded in the future.
In a statement on the planning portal, the parish council said: “The council believes that this development could have a detrimental effect on our local businesses and the people they employ. We would draw the committee’s attention to the ongoing sustainability of these businesses which employ significantly more people than the one individual proposed by the poultry units. This is particularly pertinent when considering the applicants reasons for siting the sheds in our Parish.”
Shropshire Hills AONB Partnership are against the plan. They said: “We have reviewed the applicant’s documentation and have concerns regarding the impact of the proposed development on landscape, the visitor economy and biodiversity.”
However, the Environment Agency, Shropshire Council’s Highways, Conservation, Trees, Ecology, Archaeology and Drainage departments, Historic England and Natural England have not raised any objections to the plans.
