By Henry Brooks
Protestors’ opposition to the development of a chicken farm in Shropshire has been dismissed by the High Court.
Shropshire Council had previously approved plans that would enable Matthew Bower, a farmer based near Bridgnorth, to produce 1.57 million broiler chickens a year. And although the decision was challenged by protestors, their appeal was rejected this week by Judge Rhodri Price Lewis.
As reported by the Shropshire Star, objections to the plan centred on the 2,300 tonnes of chicken manure that Mr Bower planned to spread on fields that were within close proximity to neighbouring homes, with the smell and increased traffic among major concerns.
However, Lewis threw out the appeal, stating that he did not “consider that there has been an inadequate assessment here, nor that any material consideration has been omitted” during the planning process.