In the High Court Again

[megilleland]

Hereford Times Wednesday 21st May 2014 in News By Bill Tanner

"Closed doors" council planning decision overturned at High Court

 

A “CLOSED doors†planning decision by Herefordshire Council has been overturned at the High Court.

 

The council gave the go ahead for four giant poultry houses - each the length of a football pitch - at Penrhos, near Kington, under delegated powers without taking the application to a public committee hearing.

 

But in doing so, the High Court found that the council had failed to comply with several legal obligations, including requirements to consider the impact of the development on a listed building and the landscape, or to evaluate the cumulative effect of chicken shed developments across the countryside.

 

The council was also found to have failed to assess the environmental impact of the development.

 

Herefordshire Council accepted that it had erred in granting planning approval and consented to the High Court judgement and agreed to pay undisclosed costs.

 

The council used delegated powers to approve the sheds in March despite strong opposition from locals, who said that the application was in breach of the council’s own policy that such buildings should be at least 400m away from homes – when the nearest homes were less than 200m away and Grade II* listed Penrhos Court just 300m away.

 

Objectors also raised concerns about noise, smell and traffic from the proposed development  given the impact on tourism, a mainstay of the local area.

 

But Herefordshire Council said the application would support the activities of Cargill Meats which plans to invest £35m in upgrading its Hereford plant and has been encouraging to put up poultry units.

 

The council has approved around 20 sheds over the past year, the biggest of which have the potential to produce 50,000 chickens for slaughter every 42 days.

 

At Penrhos, each shed – or broiler unit -  would have been 110m long, 20m wide and 5.2m high, with each producing 435,000 chickens each year.

 

An application to the High Court for Judicial Review was made by Janet Srodzinski, whose home, Penrhos House, is one of those near the sheds.

 

“The development would have been devastating for me, I would have been looking straight at it from my house,†she said.

 

In accepting its error in granting approval, the council agreed to pay Mrs Srodzinski’s costs.

 

Sarah Hanson of Marches Planning Consultancy, which represented Mrs Srodzinski, said:

 

“Planning laws are there to protect our landscape, our heritage and people’s homes from inappropriate development.

 

"These poultry units are effectively industrial development and councils need to think carefully about where they should be allowed.â€

 

Nice to see Bill is on this. This council ducks and dives to push it's agenda through and forced an affected individual, Mrs Srodzinski through the High Court, to protect her interest - well done to her.

[twowheelsgood]

But I'm sure that if she'd have wanted to add small extension to her home there would have been all manner of hoops to jump through. As anyone who's ever lived anywhere near poultry sheds knows, the smell when they're cleaned out is overpowering. Seems to be a case of big  business calling the tune here, as we've seen elsewhere - will Mr Ashcroft be resigning? Well done to her for standing her ground.

[dippyhippy]

Excellent reporting from Bill Tanner!

 

Well done to this lady for refusing to allow this to happen. When will this cabinet realise that they cannot just keep riding roughshod over folks?

 

I have posted before about the horrendous smell which floats across from Sun Valley. I absolutely appreciate that they are one of this counties biggest employers, but nothing is ever done about it.....and for a vegetarian it's even more unpleasant!!

It would appear that it's always one rule for big business and another for the little guy. Nice to see that David beat Goliath on this occasion!