Residents oppose 150,000-capacity chicken farm

Opposition is growing to plans for a 150,000-capacity chicken farm that is being proposed on the outskirts of Welshpool.

Residents fear that the major development of an intensive broiler unit and silos at Frochas Farm, just over a mile from Welshpool town centre, may have a direct impact on residents, homes and businesses in terms of ammonia emissions, pollution, manure odour, waste, house and land value, noise pollution and a dramatic increase in heavy vehicle traffic.

Roger Parry & Partners, representing the developers J.T. Owen & Co, have informed residents they have until January 11 to make their opinions known. It is claimed the facility would provide an economic boost for the area with more than one million chickens produced every year.

“Although the farm business is successfully run, the business is always looking at diversification, especially given the beef and sheep sectors being hit financially in recent years,” the applications states.

“The proposal is a farm diversification scheme for JT Owen & Co and is a sustainable economic development as supported by national, regional and local planning policy.

“On a global scale the development amounts to an expansion of the UK poultry meat production capacity and a step closer to self-sufficiency in poultry meat therefore reducing the need to import foreign produced poultry meat and thus reducing greenhouse gas emission from fossil fuel consumption in transportation of meat across the globe – so called “food miles”.”

But it faces stiff opposition, and in a letter to businesses, the Residents of Llanerchydol Group warned: “An industrial chicken broiler of this major size could have a serious impact on property and land prices and business in the surrounding area.

“The broiler will need to be serviced by 44-tonne trucks (HGVs), possibly daily, and this could be at any hours of the day or night. Obviously, that would dramatically increase traffic congestion and pollution on roads through and around Welshpool.

“Industrial intensive broiler chicken units are known for serious amounts of ammonia, dust and chicken manure odours, and this may lead to intense smells being blown into surrounding areas including the centre of Welshpool, which would make it very unpleasant for residents, shoppers, visitors and tourists.

“The proposed site would also have an impact on footpaths through and around Llanerchydol, Llanerchydol Park, Frochas and Glyndwr’s Way, and visitors and shoppers to Dingle Nursery & Gardens.”

They continued that residents of Llanerchydol and Frochas will be submitting letters of objection to Roger Parry & Partners firmly opposing this development.

The development is being discussed by Welshpool Town Council on January 16 at 7.15pm during its monthly Planning and Development Committee Meeting at the Town Hall.

The public can attend and will have the opportunity to speak, with the minutes of the meeting, containing the views of both the councillors and the public, submitted to Roger Parry & Partners for inclusion in any report leading to an application.

“The Council will not be objecting or supporting this scheme at this time but only making comments or concerns,” said a Town Council spokesperson. “The decision process comes when the application is submitted.”

For the full application, which includes reports on the potential odour and ammonia emissions, can be read here.