Site for poultry managers dwelling.  

The application was approved contrary to the Case Officer’s recommendation

(Site for poultry manager’s dwelling.)

The Senior Planning Officer gave a presentation on the application.

In accordance with the criteria for public speaking, Mrs J Whittal, the applicant, spoke in support of the application.

In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, the local ward member, Councillor Bolderson, spoke on the application.

She made the following principal comments:

·        When the poultry units had been approved there had been over 100 objections, together with objections from local parish councils.   In contrast, the application for the poultry managers dwelling had attracted 23 letters of support, from residents, Allensmore Parish Council and Clehonger Parish Council, veterinary professionals and other experts.

·        It was relatively uncommon to see poultry units of this scale without a manager’s dwelling.  This was due to the type of operation, their size, the need for security and management of animal welfare.  Both the Madley and Kingstone poultry units had manager homes on site and they were just as close, if not closer to available housing stock.

·        There had been no objections from consultees.

·        The officer’s report outlined that in relation to Policy RA3 and RA4 of the Core Strategy there was considered to be a functional need for there to be somebody based close to the site; it was clear that the proposed dwelling was for a full-time employee based on the scale of the investment and enterprise, establishment and viability requirements were proven; and the functional need could not be fulfilled by another existing dwelling on the unit.  The only question for the Committee therefore to consider was over whether a manager needed to reside on the site itself

·        She gave two examples where the Committee had recently agreed that there was an essential need for workers to live on site.  She noted that there had been other applications for managers dwellings that had been approved by officers under delegated authority.

·        The applicants had always envisaged providing the manager with a dwelling on site, believing this to be by far the best means of ensuring animal welfare and site security.  They considered there was an essential need for the manager to be housed on site for the following reasons: to comply with the Defra code on chicken welfare – when alarms go off or there are system failures, it often needs an immediate response.  The difference in minutes when responding to alarms at different times of the rearing cycle, can make a massive difference on livestock welfare;  managers living on site are able to monitor smell and noise more closely and potentially detect and resolve issues before alarms are triggered improving the overall welfare of the birds;  access roads to the farm had been affected and at times closed during recent flooding events and past snow falls.  A manager living in a dwelling in Clehonger, as suggested by the agricultural business consultant, would have to contend with these issues.  Minutes lost in such an event could have a significant impact on the welfare and even life of the flock; the applicant  ...  view the full minutes text for item 90