Smell and health worries over chicken farm plan

Opponents of a proposals to build a 120,000-chicken farm in Llangadfan say the area is already struggling to cope with intensive farming practices.

Mills Ltd has lodged the planning application with Powys County Council for land east of the B4395 road at Llangadfan and intends to rear broiler chickens, which are birds reared for their meat.

Jenny Butler said: “Not everyone in Llangadfan is deliriously happy about yet another smelly chicken factory here. There is a great deal of feeling against the planning application.

“The applicants, Mills Poultry Ltd, already operate two intensive poultry units locally.

“Minffordd in the centre of Llangadfan houses a 195,000 bird per crop cycle and Pentreucha lies 2km from this unit and houses a further 135,000 birds.”

The proposed development means that Mills Ltd would produce almost 3.5 million birds in the Llangadfan area a year.

Ms Butler added: “People living close to the existing poultry units complain of the smells which often permeate the atmosphere.

“These smells are intensified by the regular spreading of chicken manure from the units.

“At present, the units are producing over 6,000 tonnes of manure a year.

“The proposed development would increase this amount to almost 8,500 tonnes of manure per annum.

Concerned

“The Llangadfan area is already struggling to cope with the effects of such industrial scale waste disposal.

“People locally are concerned for their health and wellbeing.

“The thought of having three intensive poultry units, housing 450,000 broiler chickens between them, is causing local people to question the sustainability of such a development.”

Agents for Mills Ltd, Roger Parry & Partners, say in the design and access statement: “The proposal is for two broiler units to accommodate 120,000 birds.

“The birds are brought in and remain in the unit for some 42 days and therefore have approximately 7.5 cycles a year.

“After each flock, the buildings are cleaned down internally, ready for the next flock.”

The statement says that manure will be spread onto the farmland, in accordance with the control of pollution and slurry and agricultural fuel regulation and the farm's manure management plan.

If the time of year is not appropriate for spreading manure, the farm business has hard standing areas and existing buildings to store the manure until it can be used.

The report continues: “The proposal is an economic development that is supported by both local and national policy, it amounts to sustainable development that will improve the agricultural business on site.”