Plan for 20,000 more birds at poultry farm

A huge poultry farm in Staffordshire is to take in another 20,000 birds under new expansion plans, despite complaints from neighbours about noise and flies from the site.

Stafford MP Jeremy Lefroy has written to planners about his concerns over the proposals for Poplars Farm near Wheaton Aston. However, planning officers say the scheme should go ahead.

Company director Mohammed Malik wants to knock down a pair of obsolete poultry houses and replace them with one large building, more than double the combined size of the existing two.

The new hen house would use less energy to heat and cool the birds and feature extractor fans for fresh air.

Planning officers at South Staffordshire Council have recommended the scheme for approval. Seven letters of objection have been received by the authority.

Complaints were made about "intolerable smells", flies and noise from the farm which residents say have plagued them for years. Alarms going off in the night and deliveries being made at unsociable hours were also among the issues raised.

Neighbours are now concerned that an increase in the number of hens at the farm will only worsen the problem.

The Environment Agency, which regulates farms with more than 40,000 birds, wants the development put on hold until surface water problems in the area are resolved. Planning officers argue that the proposed building's modern design includes more efficient technologies that will reduce the problems of bad smells and flies.

They recommend making approval subject to a string of conditions, including writing to all residents within a 200-yard radius of the farm to give notice when the sheds are to be emptied and cleaned. The application will be discussed next week.