Controversial plans to build a multimillion-pound so-called ‘megafarm’ by Cranswick have been rejected by Kings Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council.
The meat and poultry giant had proposed plans to redevelop an existing farm near the villages of Methwold and Feltwell areas of Norfolk – which had been in use for the past 60 years – through the construction of 14 purpose-built barns for 14,000 pigs and 20 chicken sheds with the capacity to hold 714,000 birds.
A prolonged, three-year planning process attracted more than 12,000 objections, though in a vigorous defence of the proposals this week Cranswick argued many objections had come from overseas or from people “who live a significant distance” from the farm.
Cranswick had argued that the revamped farm would improve self-sufficiency, allowing it to produce more British food, to higher welfare standards – with the redeveloped site having the capacity to produce 0.5% of the pigs and 0.5% of the chickens reared in the UK.
Not allowing planning permission would “have a detrimental impact on UK economic growth, on food prices for consumers locally and nationally and on direct and indirect employment opportunities, within Norfolk and across the wider UK”, Cranswick argued ahead of the planning meeting today.
Read more: Cranswick insists ‘megafarm’ plans meet all green requirements
These comments were echoed by Barry Lock, MD for Cranswick in East Anglia, who told the committee that the proposals would reduce ammonia emissions by 40% a year, while stressing, despite claims of a lack of a climate assessment in the application, that Cranswick had “engaged constructively with the council and in line with our legal obligations – supplying all documents and evidence we were asked for”.
But despite the supplier’s defence of its proposals, and supporting statements from British Meat Processors Association CEO Nick Allen and Association of Independent Meat suppliers executive director Jason Aldiss at the planning meeting, the committee followed the recommendation of planning officers to unanimously rejected the proposals, due to its impact on ecology and climate change.
Responding to the committee’s decision, Cranswick said it was “incredibly disappointed”.
A spokesperson added: “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.”
The rejection of the proposal was welcomed by campaign groups Sustain and Feedback, who described it as a “turning point for industrial livestock production in the UK”.
As part of a 200-page report, the council’s planning officers had advised that a landmark climate change ruling was applicable to the Methwold megafarm application, the groups said.
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This meant that full direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions must be assessed transparently and taken into account when making this planning decision, Sustain and Feedback added.
“They advised that failure to include this information in the application was grounds for rejection,” the pair said.
“Local authorities are waking up to the reality of industrial farming: a damaging and extractive system of food production that poses a serious threat to human health and our country’s future, both economically and environmentally,” said Sustain climate campaigner Lily O’Mara.
“King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Council has rightly put nature and communities first by saying no to a development that would have sent us in completely the wrong direction.”
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