Marsh Benham egg farm is stopped because of environmental concerns

Plans for a large egg farm housing tens of thousands of hens have been stopped after environmentalists stepped in.

The proposal at Bradfords Farm, near Marsh Benham, could have seen about 32,000 chickens housed in the new facility.

The decision to refuse permission for it was based around the proposed development causing significant harm to the River Kennet.

“Evidence indicates harmful effects from groundwater pollution and surface water runoff, particularly through increased phosphorus and nitrogen deposition,” said the rejection from West Berkshire Council.

The planning objection was led by local community activists Action for the River Kennet (ARK) and Angling Trust, with support from River Action.

Together they objected to the application and described the refusal as “another clear sign that the tide is turning against industrial factory farming that pollutes and degrades our rivers”.

Local resident Kate Jones added: “We are a small community who have come together to fight this, and we want to encourage others that it can be done.

“We are incredibly pleased and relieved it has been refused.

“The River Kennet is safe from such developments for now, though West Berkshire Council have left the door open for SRSL [Sir Richard Sutton Limited] to resubmit.

“We would also like to thank everybody who has lent their support to our campaign, including River Action.”

River Action has consistently warned of the impacts of intensive livestock units on the health of Britain’s rivers.

Phosphorus and nitrogen pollution from such sites is a leading cause of algal blooms, oxygen depletion and widespread ecological damage.

CEO of River Action and local resident James Wallace said: “I learned to swim and fish in the River Kennet.

“This decision sends a strong message: communities will not allow our rivers to continue to be the dumping ground for industrial-scale agriculture.

“The rejection of this damaging proposal is a victory for rivers, wildlife, and the united voices of concerned local residents, and further evidence that the days of factory farms wrecking our waterways may be numbered.”

The Angling Trust also objected to the application.

Martin Salter, former Reading West MP, long-time Kennet angler and head of policy at the Angling Trust, said: “We told the Sutton’s Estate back in March that the game is up and they should withdraw their irresponsible application to locate a polluting poultry unit on the edge of the Kennet floodplain and just a few hundred metres from a highly protected SSSI, but they didn’t listen.

“It’s been a long hard campaign but I’m so pleased that common sense has finally prevailed and those of us who love and cherish Berkshire’s most famous chalkstream can breathe a sigh of relief.”

There are currently six poultry houses on the site, with the now refused plans proposing these be demolished and replaced with a new purpose-built free range egg-laying unit.

Critics have raised concerns over the impact the large unit would have on the landscape, as well as worries over bird flu.

Hens would lay eggs for 70 weeks before being sold and replaced, the proposals state.

The bird housing areas include rows of tiered perches, which are situated over manure belts, with automated chain feeders and non-drip nipple drinkers also included.

Following laying, the eggs would roll from the nest box on to a conveyor belt to the proposed structure's service area.

Another objector said: “The facility would appear as a harsh intrusion into the open countryside that would be visually intrusive and would have a harmful urbanising impact on the appearance, the wider character of the area.”

Marsh Benham Conservation Area lies less than 0.6 miles (1km) away from the site.

A nearby public footpath in the same field as the development is in “constant use” objectors said, adding that the field was home to an array of wildlife including deer, red kites and badgers.