Green light for mega-hen farm
By Elgan Hearn, Local Democracy Reporter
The proposal submitted by agents Roger Parry and Partners on behalf of Mr D. Evans explains that the birds are brought in and remain in the the egg production unit for 13 months.
After this time, the flock will be removed and the building fully cleaned and the new flock introduced to restart the egg production cycle.
The scheme proposes a single building which will be 80m long and 30m wide and will have a floor area of around 2400 square metres to house the 16,000 laying hens.
The site is on an existing agricultural field.
The Design and Access statement which backs the proposal says that the farm business needs to change and grow in response to “market forces” and new legislation.
It says: “Brynrhug is an established farm business, mainly concentrating on sheep enterprises.
The business remains viable but the decline in the sheep sector and the reduction in the single farm payment scheme over the years is “significantly impacting upon the viability of the business”.
The statement goes on to say: “Poultry egg laying is becoming an important element in Wales’ agricultural economy.
“The current market dictates that agriculture must adapt to meet consumer demands, the applicant has chosen to diversify to respond to the demand for free range eggs.”
The planning permission gives the farmer five years to build the unit.
When asked why the decision was taken by officers rather than placed before the Powys County Council planning committee, a spokesman said: “The planning applications fell under our scheme of delegation – more applications are delegated than go to committee.
“Only major applications, requiring environmental impact assessments, are connected with a Powys officer/councillor or are called in by an elected member go to committee.”
There were no objections to the proposal.
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