BMPA slams ‘broken planning system’ after rejection of Cranswick ‘megafarm’

The rejection of Cranswick’s multimillion-pound pig and poultry farm plan is a sign of the UK’s “failing planning system” and is “hindering investment by British businesses”, the British Meat Processors Association has claimed.

The controversial, so-called ‘megafarm’ plans by the protein giant to redevelop an existing farm near the villages of Methwold and Feltwell areas of Norfolk was unanimously rejected last week, by councillors on the Kings Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council planning committee.

Cranswick had wanted to update the farm, which has been used for the past 60 years, by building 14 barns for 14,000 pigs and 20 chicken sheds with the capacity for 714,000 birds.

But the proposals attracted strong opposition, including more than 12,000 objections, and a protracted, three-year planning process culminated in a rejection due to its impact on ecology and climate change.

The rejection came despite Cranswick insisting it had met all the council’s requirements on the issue.

The BMPA this week said the council’s “glacial, obstructive process” was at odds with the government’s drive to cut red tape and “get Britain building”.

Cranswick’s plans would have contributed jobs and economic activity to the area, and could have played a part in “shoring up Britain’s increasingly precarious domestic food security”, said BMPA CEO Nick Allen, with the protein giant’s proposals having the capacity to produce 0.5% of the pigs and 0.5% of the chickens reared in the UK.

“Despite the fact the Environment Agency has approved the site to house up to 29,000 pigs, Cranswick’s proposal was only for 14,000, reared in extra space to RSPCA Assured standards,” Allen added.

“And yet the application suffered another refusal by a committee that struggled to answer simple questions about the proposal and had to be corrected over erroneous information at one point.” 

Regardless of the eventual outcome, “the process should not, by any reasonable measure, be taking this long”, he urged.

“Businesses that want to make new investments in British industry should not have to commit such a disproportionate amount of resource and time just to get a decision,” Allen insisted. 

“Apart from the disincentive to invest it clearly poses, this broken system is proving a huge barrier to realising the Labour government’s goals of growth and food security.” 

Cranswick said it was “incredibly disappointed”, with the committee’s decision.

“This a bad day for the sustainable production of British meat. We’ll now take time to review the decision and consider the options available to us,” it said.