Further concerns over 'industrialistion of the countryside' by chicken farm plan

There have been further objections to a proposed chicken ‘factory farm’ on land in a small village near Horncastle.

Readers have responded to the previous article on the plans in the Horncastle News and Lincolnshireworld.com for eight poultry units, rearing no fewer than three million birds per year, on a site spanning more than 26 acres (10.78 hectares) on mainly arable farmland at Harriet’s Farm, south of Poolham Lane in Poolham, Horsington.

As well as the poultry houses, each measuring 113 metres by 24 metres, the farm would include underground dirty-water tanks, a drainage attenuation pond, sub-station, generator house, switch room, pump house, storage shed, clean-water tank, dead-bird shed, gas-tank banks, feed bins, a house for the site manager, staff parking for five vehicles and a new access road connecting to Poolham Lane.

Residents fear the farm would attract noise, traffic, smells and health hazards, while triggering animal-welfare concerns.

Objector Susan Buckley contacted the Horncastle News drawing attention to an article published in the i newspaper which mentions Lincolnshire as a hot spot, where there are said to be currently 13 active applications for “intensive poultry units”, which hold at least 40,000 birds, according to the group Communities Against Factory Farming. Many of these are large, so-called "megafarms" that could slaughter over one million birds per year, in response to new supermarket welfare standards.

Plans for a new poultry unit near Wragby were cited as an example.

She said: "At a time when we are being advised to eat less meat, this makes no sense.

"They are not called factory farms for nothing.

"They do nothing to benefit local communities and tend to be owned by huge corporations that have zero interest in animal welfare, local communities or human health. Only profits.

She said the residents of Thimbleby, close to the application for Harriets Farm on Poolham Lane, expect to be affected by additional HGV movements, as well as Horncastle, as the lorries will all travel along the A158/A153 through the town, carrying the day-old chicks to the farm, taking them out again, five weeks later to slaughter, plus the already dead birds, the manure lorries and the dirty water tankers.

Ms Buckley said East Lindsey District Council's Local Plan identified the Bull Ring junction of the A158/A153 as being at capacity eight years ago. "The road network cannot support this volume of additional traffic," she claimed.

As well as the objections posted on the council’s website, a campaign has been launched through Facebook, and opponents of the farm are urged also to send complaints to www.caff.org.uk/harriets, run by the CAFF (Communities Against Factory Farming) organisation.

A planning statement submitted to the council by Poolham Poultry Ltd’s agents for the scheme, Harrison Pick, of Yorkshire, describes the proposal as “a large-scale broiler-rearing facility with a total capacity of 400,000 birds”, and adds:

”The development represents a significant agricultural investment that would support the rural economy, create employment opportunities and contribute to sustainable food production.

"Chicks would be delivered as day-olds and reared for approximately 38 days. A ten-day period would follow each cycle to allow for cleaning, disinfection and preparation.

"The buildings would operate a controlled environment system, with computerised control of feed, water, ventilation and heating.”

The statement stresses that the layout of the farm had been “carefully designed” to “minimise” the impact on the landscape, and would be screened behind trees, hedges and wildflower grassland.

Issues such as odour, noise, ammonia emissions, vehicle movements and the heritage of the area had all been considered too.

"The predicted noise levels are acceptable,” says the statement. “Traffic movements would be cyclical and predictable, and the development would not give rise to significant adverse odour effects.

"Our assessments also conclude that there would be no significant adverse effects on residential properties.”

Finally, the statement addresses animal welfare, stressing that it is “a fundamental consideration and has been embedded within both the design and operational strategy of the facility”.

"The units would operate in accordance with nationally recognised welfare standards,” it says.

"Each poultry house would have straw bales, perch space or raised platforms and pecking objects to encourage natural behaviours and reduce stress.

"Natural daylight would be introduced through windows, with a minimum of six hours of darkness within each 24-hour period.

“The birds would have constant access to a nutritionally balanced diet and clean water via automated systems”.

The statement goes on: “Trained stockpersons would undertake multiple daily welfare checks, with veterinary support available as required.

"The proposal places animal health and welfare at the forefront of the operation.”