Planning officers have recommended that King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council’s planning committee rejects an application from Cranswick for a large pig and poultry farm in Norfolk.
Cranswick is seeking planning permission to expand an existing site to house 14,000 pigs and more than 700,000 chickens near the villages of Methwold and Feltwell. The planning hearing is due to take place next week.
Cranswick is arguing that the development will ensure better use of local land, improving the existing site, will deliver higher welfare for pigs and poultry and improve British food security, reducing the country’s reliance on imports.
However, in a 200-page report, planning officers have recommended that the application should be refused for two reasons.
The application site lies within close to a number of European protected sites, but planning officers say Cranswick has failed to demonstrate that the development ‘would not result in significant adverse effects on the protected sites’.
They also conclude that insufficient environmental information has been submitted by Cranswick to enable the council to reach a view on the impact of the project on the environment and climate change.
The report states: “The public benefits of the development as proposed are outweighed by the potential environmental impacts of the scheme. The Council are not in a position to be able to fully assess these impacts despite the number of opportunities presented to the Applicant to submit further information, and as such the application should be refused.”
Cranswick response
In its statement supporting the proposals, Cranswick said it was ‘extremely disappointing’ to learn that the planning officer is recommending refusal of the application due to a lack of information being submitted in respect of ecology and climate change.
Cranswick said it had worked with council officers ‘at every step’ to provide environmental information, but had learned of additional concerns in February and not been given time to respond. “The applicant strongly disagrees with the Council Officer’s conclusions in respect of ecology and climate change,” the submission by Bidwells on its behalf stated.
The planning officer report reveals the plans received 12,604 objections, a 42,133-signature petition and seven representations in support, the BBC reported. Objectors included five parish councils, a local campaign group and two South West Norfolk MPs, Liz Truss and her Labour successor, Terry Jermy.
About 10 animal welfare groups objected, along with environmental and sustainability campaigners World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), RSPB, Norfolk Wildlife Trust, Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), and business network Sustain.
Cranswick’s statement said: “We recognise that strong views and concerns have been expressed by local people, but the vast majority of objections have come from outside the local area, and even from abroad.
“The ‘megafarm’ description which has been coined is a misnomer; this is a standard pig farm, the likes of which can be found across Norfolk and beyond. The sheds are no larger than the average modern pig shed.”