Plans for slurry lagoon kick up stink

Yattendon Estates Ltd has instructed Reading Agricultural Consultants Ltd (RAC) to submit a planning application for a slurry store at the farm - where farmers gather all their animal waste together with other unusable organic matter in order to convert it over a period of time, into fertilizer that can eventually be re-used on their land to fertilize crops.
The proposed slurry store is to be located in a field approximately 1km north of the village of Yattendon, within the boundary of the North WessexDowns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
Concern has been raised locally about the plans, with nearby residents and Ashampstead Parish Council objecting over the potential smell the pit could omit.
In a formal objection letter to the council, Mrs Prudence Shepheard: “I am concerned about the smell from this proposed site for the open slurry pit.
“The application states there will be no smell between September and January; once the weather heats up, what will happen then? I imagine that between March and September, with a prevailing wind, there will be a stench enveloping the area in which we and many others, live.”
In another official objection letter to the council, Lady Laura Reid said: “I can't find anywhere on the site anything about the potential smell from the lagoon? I live just 600 meters away and am quite concerned.”
The clerk of Ashampstead Parish Council, Paul Thompson, said: “I have been asked to advise you that the councillors object to this application as they believe that being so close to a footpath, the proposed slurry lagoon may prove to be a danger to both dogs and children.
“The councillors are also concerned as to the impact of odours arising from the site.”
In its application, the estate argued that during certain times of the year, a crust will form on the surface of the slurry which has a significant impact on the level of odour arising from the pit and that even when there was an odour, it was unlikely to have an adverse impact on local dwellings and insisted that the affect would be “minimal”.
The estate says that increasing the farm’s slurry storage capacity would avoid inappropriate spreading conditions which can result in damage to field surfaces.
If plans are approved a ramp and flat area to the west of the proposed lagoon would be constructed to provide a pumping area for filling and emptying, and also to allow easy turning for tractors and tankers.
This area would be located on the alignment of an existing track which runs adjacent to the hedgerow, with the track providing access to the lagoon from the north and the south.
A security fence would also be installed around the edge of the lagoon, with an access gate provided adjacent to the filling and emptying area and mixing points around the perimeter.
The proposed slurry store forms part of a programme of measures to develop Yattendon Estates’ farming enterprise, improving both the dairy business and the performance of the arable enterprise.
Yattendon Estates Ltd holding extends to 1,790 hectacres in the vicinity of Yattendon, which is used for a mix of arable, dairy and pig farming (tenant), and mixed forestry.