Erection of four poultry buildings with feed bins, one gate house, one boiler house and circular water tank; and associated infrastructure and landscaping scheme.

The Technical Specialist Planning Officer introduced the application and with reference to the drawings displayed, he drew Members’ attention to the location, layout and elevations.  He confirmed that Members had undertaken a site visit and had viewed the site and had assessed the impact of the proposal on the surrounding area.  He drew Members’ attention to the additional information as set out in the Schedule of Additional Letters circulated prior to the meeting and appraised Members of 30 further objections that had been received from local residents following publication of the Schedule of Additional Letters.

Mr L Berryman, a local resident, spoke against the proposal in accordance with the Council’s Scheme for Public Speaking at Planning Committees. 

Councillor David Cooper, representing Bridgnorth Town Council, spoke against the proposal in accordance with the Council’s Scheme for Public Speaking at Planning Committees. 

Councillor David Ball, representing Tasley Parish Council, spoke against the proposal in accordance with the Council’s Scheme for Public Speaking at Planning Committees. 

In accordance with the Local Protocol for Councillors and Officers dealing with Regulatory Matters (Part 5, Paragraph 15) Councillor Elliott Lynch, and also representing Councillor Les Winwood, both being local Ward Councillors, made a statement.  He then left the table, took no part in the debate and did not vote on this item.  During his statement, the following points were raised:

·         This proposal had caused great concern to local residents as evidenced by the large turnout at both this meeting and site visit;

·         The size and scale of the development was huge.  Bridgnorth was a growing community and under SAMDev it would continue to grow and families could be located closer to the site in the future;

·         He raised concerns regarding odour and dust and reiterated the need to protect the future health of the community.  Farming dust was spread by wind and dust was linked to respiratory illness; and

·         He drew attention to a statement from a six-year old resident who was objecting to the proposal and urging refusal.

With the permission of the Chairman and due to the fact that an additional Parish/Town Council had been allowed to speak against the proposal, the agent was permitted to speak for up to six minutes.   Mr I Pick, the agent, spoke for the proposal in accordance with the Council’s Scheme for Public Speaking at Planning Committees and responded to questions from Members.

In the ensuing debate, Members noted the comments of all speakers and considered the submitted plans.  In response to questions and comments from Members, the Public Protection Officer provided clarification regarding the role of the Environment Agency and Shropshire Council’s Public Protection team and explained the process and timescale for responding to any complaints. The Technical Specialist Officer drew Members’ attention to the conditions which would be attached to any permission relating to ecology and lighting and explained that the installation of solar panels in the future, although not part of this proposal, could fall under the category of permitted development.

RESOLVED:

That, as per the Officer’s recommendation, delegated authority be granted to the Planning Services Manager to grant planning permission, subject to:

·         The conditions as set out in Appendix 1 to the report, subject to conditions being amended to ensure that any external surfaces of the development shall be BS18B29, and any other amendments deemed necessary.