Very OT: has anyone here successfully opposed a planning application for a vast industrial poultry unit?

[nothanks]

Subject says it all - I'd appreciate hearing of your experiences. Apologies for introducing an OT topic, consider it a form of planning policy DIY ;-)

[The Natural Philosopher]

No, but we stopped a windfarm

We fought very very dirty, as the company doing it was a household name, and we ridculed them and dug up every ounce of dirt on them we could, and watched the hits coming in from their PR firm...eventually they decided 'there wasnt enough wind' and gave up.

Read up on planning law: Industrial style development in rural areas is a bit of a nono.

[Tim+]

Can?t read it all. Too long for some newsreaders.

Tim

[Brian Gaff]

You need support from other people nearby affected. In most of the successes I've heard of a single voice in the wilderness gets nowhere unless its a no brainer like severe noise, smell traffic at anti social hours etc. Brian

[Clive Arthur]

Yes. My advice is to talk to the planners and try to get them on your side. The council will nearly always go with the planners' decision because otherwise they may be liable if their decision is overturned. Invite the planners round to see for themselves from your side.

Speak to you local councillors, and if they're not on the planning committee, speak to a councillor who is. These people, like all of us, like to be appreciated so be polite and respectful. Invite them round to see the problem.

Objections from far and wide (your aunt Daisy in Barnsley) don't count for anything, objections from people nearby do.

Some people will tell you that the planners only need a single page or less and that objections should only be relevant to planning considerations. We asked the planners if that was true and they told us that they'd read whatever we wrote and it was their job to filter out the relevant bits, which helped enormously. Use a little deadpan humour in the text - refer to the proposed unsightly erection. Include photographs, descriptions of the bird life, trees whatever but don't expect that everybody will read everything.

Cheers

[Clive Arthur]

This wasn't a poultry unit of course.

Cheers

[nothanks]

I didn't think that poultry had "unsightly erections" ;-)

[Another Dave]

We stopped a wind turbine and and, separately, a solar farm. Our aim was to get as many objections as possible and appear at the planning committee's meetings.

People are reluctant to make up objections so we wrote half a dozen sample letters/website texts together with lists of valid objections and put them on a website. In addition we put ads in all the local pubs and shops quoting the website and facebook page. We also wrote some draft articles for the local press.

All this takes organisation so you need to form a committee of half a dozen like-minded people. You may be able to get some funds from the parish council budget but you don't need to spend much.

We managed to get 620 objections to the turbine which is a huge number - you don't need as many as that. The application was withdrawn at the last minute.

When the solar farm was mooted we reformed the committee and made the applicants aware of the turbine outcome. They withdrew at an early stage.

Don't expect too much help from the parish council; they're all local landowners and stand to profit from any developments allowed through.

Another Dave

[charles]

Sadly, Parish Councils don't have any powers in regard to Planning. I write as a Parish Council Chairman.

[Tim Streater]

Except to object. I think PC objections get a bit more mileage.

[Peter]

One of your grounds for objection will be Animall Rights. Have you ever been in a large and modern industrial poultry unit? They are disgusting. They smell awful, the birds are housed in a totally cruel and inhumane way, some of the practices are viciously cruel, i.e. de-beaking and the general treatment of the birds is horrific.

See if you can get an invitation into one of these hells on earth and take a hidden cameral. Remember, it's all fair no matter how horrific.

Get all of the animal cruelty film you can find that relates to this type of house and include them in your objections.

You will have lots of of other grounds for objections, but the cruelty ones are killers. If the planning committee will look through them I just don't know how they will agree the application.

Just for interest, just where is it plannned. If it's anywhere near me, I'll join you! peter

[charles]

not here they don't. We get treated as ONE objection- not even 9 which is our council membership..

[Tim Lamb]

In message <300320191902104459% [e-mail], Tim Streater [e-mail] writes

Parish Councils commonly have a planning committee who review upcoming applications. Recommendations are passed to the PC who then forward their views to Planning. What weight is given is unknown but they seem to be able to *call in* applications such that they are considered by the full planning committee rather than an officers decision. This allows an opportunity for a short presentation by concerned neighbours etc.

There have been cases where *industrial* poultry housing has been refused. A search should turn up something.

>

[TimW]

PLanning is a complicated subject: some of your grounds for objection will be simply invalid, while others will need arguing in the right way eg in the context of the law and the Planning Authorities policies. You won't get far without professional advice.

There are places you can get good advice. Your first call should be to your county branch of CPRE. Offer to pay their small subscription to become a member - it might sweeten their attitude. CPRE is there to protect the countryside from industrial development.

TW

[nothanks]

In case anyone is interested, here's a link to the planning application:

[nothanks]

It's in Herefordshire -

[TimW]

[nothanks]

Thanks (although I'd already found that)

[charles]

You don't usually get that amount of time. Planning Applications have to be determined within a few weeks.

[charles]

Not round here it doesn't. We are treated as a single objector.