Great Ponton debate over Lincolnshire chicken farm plans
Plans for an industrial-scale poultry farm for 270,000 chickens in Lincolnshire are to be discussed at a public meeting later.
The 4.7 acre (1.9 hectare) plans for six chicken sheds at High Dike, Great Ponton are to be reviewed at the village's community centre. A 25,000-signature protest petition to South Kesteven District Council has called it a "chicken prison". The developer's agent has asked people to "learn all the facts". The plans for the site, presently arable land south of Grantham between Great Ponton and Boothby Pagnell, include housing for an agricultural worker. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta), that organised the online petition, said: "In addition to causing cruelty to animals on a massive scale, an expansion of this kind would likely have many negative effects on the local area." Kenny Dhillon, the agent for applicant Steward Adams, said: "Everybody is entitled to their own opinion but that should be contained within the facts of the submission", he said. He reassured residents the unit would adhere to the latest legislation, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said. "The UK is the world leader in poultry welfare standards and those standards are more strict than elsewhere", he added. The meeting over the application is to be chaired by Nick Boles, Conservative MP for Grantham and Stamford, with council representatives present. Follow BBC East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk.