APPLICATION REFERENCE NO 09/01429/FUL
Site Address Hazelwood Manor Farm Burmington Shipston-on-Stour
Proposals Erection of a 12000 bird free range egg laying unit
Presenting Case Officer Sian Gardner Tony Horton Officer
Type of Committee Date 4 November 2009 Full planning Application
Applicant Ms Shirley Parker Noble Councillor P S Parish Ward Member(s) Burmington Seccombe Meeting Referral to Planning and No Previous No Regulation Committee Committee
Erection of a 12,000 bird free range egg laying unit as a farm diversification initiative. Floor area of 1562m2. Height to eaves 2.4m, height to ridge 5.4m Description of A purpose built poultry unit of timber weatherboarding Proposals construction with a profile sheet roof Building to be accessed off the public highway via the existing entrance Building to be sited close to the existing farm buildings at Hazelwood Manor Farm Reason for Referral Scale of development to Committee Planning Open countryside Constraints Principle Design/scale/siting/landscaping Key Issues Residential amenity/ Noise/smells Highway safety Ecology
Recommendation GRANT SUMMARY OF POLICY AND BACKGROUND PAPERS
POLICY
The Development Plan
The West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy
Not a scheme of regional significance
Warwickshire Structure Plan 1996 - 2011 (Saved Policies)
None relevant to this application
Stratford-on-Avon District Local Plan Review 1996-2011 (Saved Policies) CTY.1 Control over Development CTY.4A Agriculture and farm diversification CTY.4 Agriculture and farm diversification DEV.1 Layout and Design DEV.4 Access PR.1 Landscape and Settlement Character PR.8 Pollution Control
Other Material Considerations
Central Government Guidance
PPS1 – Creating Sustainable Communities PPS7 – Sustainable Development in Rural Areas
Other Legislation
Human Rights Act 1998
REPRESENTATIONS
Parish Meeting
Burmington Parish Meeting comment on the application as follows;
• Concern about odour that may be omitted on a daily basis • Concern about siting as a public footpath runs close to the proposed site and presence of deciduous trees so the building will only be partly screened throughout the year (10.9.09)
Third Party Representations
3 letters received containing concerns and objections. The comments relate to the following;
• Concern about the size/scale of the proposed building and its potential to significantly impact on the surrounding area • Concern about the use of the building and the number of employees in relation to traffic movements • Concern about noise and smells • Use is not appropriate so close to residential properties • The building is visually unattractive • Concern about future uses of the building should the existing use cease
Applicant’s Comments
Design, Access & Planning Statement:-
• Hazelwood Manor Farm extends to 33 hectares and is currently occupied as an extensive beef fattening enterprise. Diversification to free range egg production has been chosen because the market for free range eggs is very strong, with demand outstripping supply and buoyant prices.
• The building has accommodation for 6000 birds on either side of a central store. The lighting within the building is on a time switch. Ventilation within the building is fan assisted with side inlet vents and roof fans.
• Access to the building is required by lorries. The traffic generated averages 2.4 lorry movements per week. The area to the west of the unit will provide parking and turning facilities for delivery vehicles. The existing access will be used.
• The building lies 800m to the South West of Drybank Meadow SSSI. Using the SCAIL (Simple Calculation of Ammonia Impact Limits) calculation ammonia emissions are within the tolerances set by the Environment Agency of 20% for a SSSI.
Agricultural Statement:-
An egg to be sold as ‘free range’ must have been produced in accordance with stringent standards set by the RSPCA Freedom Food Welfare Standards for Laying Hens and Pullets. In addition, other standards must be met, principally the Lion Code.
The RSPCA Welfare Standards set limits on the number of birds that may be housed within a unit as well as the amount of land that must be available for birds to roam. The maximum stocking density internally is 9 birds per sq m. Externally there must be available a minimum of 1 hectare of land for every 1000 birds.
The unit is designed and proven in practice to produce negligible environmental consequences. Concerns generally arise from perceived problems from smell, dust, flies, rodents and feral animals.
The design incorporates a plastic slatted floor droppings pit which has a proven history of creating no smell nuisance as droppings remain dry and friable. There is a natural dry composting that takes place and ammonia in quantity will not be produced. To ensure that droppings remain dry and friable water usage is monitored daily. The surrounding pasture is regenerated and only occupied by birds for a short time thus there is no build up of detritus. In practice, any smell within the houses is not apparent beyond its immediate surroundings.
The unit cycle is normally 58 to 60 weeks and the unit is only cleaned out at the end of this. It is anticipated that there would be some smell from the site during cleanouts but this will last no more than 1 or 2 days which is a frequency less than most usual agricultural practices.
CONSULTATIONS
Senior Environmental Health Officer
In view of the location of the proposed building, a minimum of 600 metres from the nearest residential properties, no noise or odour problems are anticipated. I therefore, raise no objections to this application from the environmental health viewpoint (18.9.09).
WCC – Highways
No objection (4.9.09)
Environment Agency
Verbally advised no objections but likely to require an environmental permit.
WCC Ecology
No objections.
Kernon Countryside Consultants
No objections (30.10.09)
RELEVANT PLANNING HISTORY
Reference Number Proposal Decision and date
97/01092/FUL ERECTION OF HAY/STRAW STORAGE Granted 16.09.1997 BUILDING. 96/00047/AGNOT HAZLEWOOD MANOR FARM - NEW Granted 23.12.1996 CATTLE YARD BUILDING. 92/00014/AGNOT HAZELWOOD FARM - LAMBING Granted 10.11.1992 BUILDING ALSO FOR GRAIN AND GENERAL STORAGE.
ASSESSMENT OF THE KEY ISSUES
Principle of Development
Policies CTY.4A and CTY.4 of the Local Plan Review encourages buildings related to agriculture where they are genuinely required and where the siting, design and intended use of the proposed building would not have a detrimental impact on the environment. Proposals which seek to diversify farm based operations will generally be supported. Policy COM 16 supports the expansion of existing firms in their established locations and as such I consider this policy to be relevant also. I am satisfied that the proposed development is in line with the aims of Planning Policy Statement 7.
Design/scale/siting/landscaping
The building is to be around 85m in length and around 18m in width with an eaves height of 2.4m and a ridge height of 5.4m. The size of the building is linked to the size of the enterprise as free range egg production standards require that stocking levels cannot exceed 9 birds per square metre. Large buildings are necessary for free range egg production units due to the substantial set up costs and the equipment that is necessary for the units to operate. The building has a functional agricultural appearance being of timber weatherboarding construction and having a profile metal sheeting roof. The building has been sited adjacent to existing agricultural buildings with notably a mature shelterbelt of trees to the north of the site which provides substantial screening particularly when in leaf. The ground levels fall away quite sharply to the north and as such the building will be dug into the ground which will help to mitigate against any visual impacts. The building has been carefully sited in proximity to existing farm buildings and as such will be viewed as part of a farm complex within an agricultural landscape. Additional landscaping can be incorporated via a condition which will help soften any long range visual impact that the building may have. The two feed hoppers will stand slightly higher than the proposed building, but such structures are common to most farms and I do not consider them to be overly visually harmful.
Residential amenity/ Noise/smells
The closest residential dwelling is Burmington Grange Cottage which will be more than 500m from the proposed building in a north easterly direction. I am satisfied that the amenity of this dwelling and other properties which lie further away will not be unacceptably affected by the building due to the existence of the tree belt and the considerable distances that they lie away from the site. I also note that the Senior Environmental Health Officer raises no objection.
The submitted agricultural statement highlights the stringent welfare standards which must be adopted and other standards which must be applied to both the building and the specific use carrying on in the building. There are formal accreditations and regular checks carried out by RSPCA inspectors. In terms of smells, the applicants state that the unit will have to comply with ‘The Code for Good Practice for the Protection of Air’ 1998 (amended) and the nature of a free range unit precludes the emission of a significant amount of dust as a dust laden atmosphere within the unit must be avoided to protect the welfare interests of both birds and the stockpersons.
Highway Safety
Hazelwood Manor Farm has an existing access and access road which will be utilised. The existing access is used by all existing farm traffic and provides visibility splays which meet national standards. The traffic generated by a free range egg laying unit averages 2.4 lorry movements per week, including feed delivery, egg collection, bird delivery and bird collection. The area to the west of the unit will provide parking and turning facilities for delivery vehicles. I am satisfied that the building will not generate an unacceptable level of traffic movements or adversely affect highway safety in the vicinity of the site. The County Highways Authority has been consulted and has no objections to this application subject to electronic gates located at the entrance to Hazelwood Manor Farm being located more than 20 metres from the public highway. The applicant has agreed to move the gates and as such a condition will be attached to the permission.
Ecology
The application site lies around 800m to the south west of Drybank Meadow SSSI. The County Ecologist has been informally consulted on this proposal and does not raise any concerns.
RECOMMENDATION
That planning permission is GRANTED, subject to the following conditions and notes, the detailed wording of which is delegated to officers.
1. Standard 3 year permission.
2. Soft landscaping details.
3. Replacement planting.
4. Materials samples.
5. Surface water details.
6. Any gates erected at the entrance to the site for vehicles shall be hung so as to open no nearer than 20 metres from the near edge of the public carriageway.
Note
1. The applicant is advised to contact the Environment Agency on 01543 404960 as an Environmental Permit may be required.
The Reasons for Recommending Granting Planning Permission
The development proposals comply with the policies and proposals of the Development Plan. The decision to grant planning permission has been taken having regard to the policies and proposals as set out in the policy section above. There are no material considerations that are sufficient to justify overriding these policies.