A planning application was submitted on 14/03/2013 for permission
to build three large agricultural buildings just south of the A4
and east of Marsh Lane.
Two would house egg-producing chickens - just under 40,000 of them.
The third would be a storage, packing, and admin building.
The planning application can be read on the South Bucks website.
The reference number is
13/00416/FUL
If you want your views taken into account,
you must send your comments to the planning authority
before 29/04/2013. This can be done very easily via the planning website link above.
Larger (PDF) version of the location plan
1) This is placing buildings in one of the few obviously open
stretches of farmland separating Slough and Maidenhead.
The value of this separation is very large and preserving it
should carry more weight than would normally attach to a
proposal using a green-field site.
2) The size of the proposed poultry unit has been set at just
a few birds under 40,000. This is apparently a threshold for
some regulations. It would be interesting to know what extra
requirements would be imposed for a unit of 40,001 birds.
3) Odour. This appears to have been addressed with some care,
but the units and measurements are unfamiliar to most of us.
I am prepared to accept the Met Office appraisal which states
that there will not be a significant problem if the sheds are
operated as designed, but I would want oversight and
enforcement of procedures.
4) Noise. I would not expect the chickens to be audible outside
the sheds, but nothing has been said about the noise generated
by the extract fans on the roof. This needs checking.
5) I did not see a lorry-movements figure, but a quick
calculation suggests that there may not be many per day.
40,000 hens might produce 30,000 eggs per day. This is
probably less than one articulated lorry-load. There will also
be feed deliveries and manure removals, but these are likely
to be less frequent. Should be checked.
6) Light pollution. Linked with (1) above. I would not want to
see any light from this development at night. No security
lights, no floodlights (except when lorries are actually
arriving or leaving), and certainly no light emitted above the
horizontal and no source of illumination directly visible from
outside the site boundary.
19 Apr 2013 21:47:09 EvaLipman:
This is my letter of objection to this application
Re the application number Selected Application: 13/00416/FUL
for the errection of three chicken sheds at Marchmead Farm, March Lane.
I wish to strenuously object to the above. It is in the green belt in a very visible position and will be seen from the A4 Bath Road thereby spoiling the rural aspect of that part of the main road which at the moment is green and pleasant. The scale, and bulk of the proposed development is detrimental to the openness and character of the green belt. There is a relatively small section of the Bath Road which is of open aspect between Slough and Maidenhead which makes this particular bit of the green belt rather precious.
It is contrary to policies GB1 and EP3.
When Marshmead was owned by Eileen Law it was not a farm but a private house and lovely garden and Major and Mrs. Law also owned the fields adjoining the property which were used for grazing horses.
yours faithfully,
Eva Lipman
