Councillors go against expert advice and approve plans for house next to poultry farm

Elgan Hearn – Local democracy reporter 

Councillors have gone against expert advice and approved plans to build a house next to poultry units on a farm despite health concerns.

At a meeting of Powys County Council’s Planning committee on Thursday, October 23, plans by Keri Davies to build a “rural enterprise dwelling” new access, sewage treatment plant and associated works at Wernheulog Farm, Llanfaredd near Builth Wells, were approved.

The house is intended to be used as a home and office by a stockman for the 180,000 bird poultry units.

This worker is needed on site around the clock to deal with any bird welfare issues.

Business

Senior Planning Officer Catherine James said that the proposal had passed the financial test for a rural enterprise building as it’s been an: “established business for a significant time.”

But the proposed dwelling is within 50 metres of the poultry units and recent Public Health Wales guidance is that any dwelling associated with and intensive farming unit must be located more than 100 metres away.

She added that this is the first instance of a housing being built so close to poultry units had been considered in Powys as: “all others had been further than 100 metres away.”

Ms James said: “Officers would be very concerned about the setting of precedent.”

She said that Public Health Wales advised that people living at the house could suffer from respiratory illnesses including children who could be: “particularly sensitive to bioaerosols.”

Health

Ms James said that her recommendation would be to refuse the application as not enough information had been provided to “demonstrate” that the health of occupants could be protected.

Speaking in favour of the application, Sian Davies said that four generations of her family had farmed at Wernheulog.

Miss Davies said: “Now that we have four sheds it has meant that we need to employ a full-time stockman on site along with myself to ensure the birds are kept to the best welfare standards possible.

“The stockman is required to be on site 24 hours because of the alarm system which has to be responded to within five minutes.”

She added that the building was “vital” to the sustainability of the business.

Cllr Elwyn Vaughan (Plaid Cymru – Glantwymyn) asked for clarification around the health concerns raised around the proposal.

He was told that bioaerosols are tiny airborne particles from living organisms which can “have significant effects” on health causing chronic bronchitis, asthma and “farmer’s lung.”

Prolonged exposure creates a “greater risk” and living so close to the units would not provide any “respite” for the worker from that risk.

Cllr Jonathan Wilkinson (Conservative – Llangyniew and Meifod) said: “I find it difficult to understand how someone who’s working in a poultry shed most of the day is going to suffer significant extra risk by living adjacent to it.”

Due to the importance of the development to the business, Cllr Wilkinson put forward a motion to recommend going against officer recommendation and approved it.

This was seconded by Cllr Karl Lewis (Reform UK –  Llandinam with Dolfor).

The committee went to a vote which saw nine councillors vote to approve the application and three vote against it.