The farm, owned by Matthew Bower, will have the capacity to produce 1,570,000 broiler chickens per year and will generate over 2,300 tonnes of chicken manure, the latter being the source of most complaints.
The application for four poultry buildings at Footbridge Farm in Tasley, Bridgnorth received 332 comments from the public, the majority (290) of which were objections. Reasons for objecting included potential smells, traffic increases and noise.
It had been given the green light by Shropshire Council planning team but this decision was challenged in the High Court by one of the protestors, as reported in the Shropshire Star.
The main crux of the challenge was that there were homes nearby that would be impacted by the chicken farm. However, Judge Rhodri Price Lewis QC quashed the appeal claiming the council had “properly assessed both the direct and indirect environmental effects of the project”.
He said: "I do not consider that there has been an inadequate assessment here, nor that any material consideration has been omitted.”