Major chicken farm for more than 200,000 birds approved

In November 2020, an application was made to Powys County Council by farmers RJ Hughes & Co to build poultry units at Argoed Farm, near Trefeglwys, which would see 220,000 broiler chickens reared for meat at the site.

The farm already had 32,000 egg laying chickens there.

Three new units will be built, and the egg laying building will be converted into a fourth unit.

The broilers will be brought in as day old chicks at a 50-50 mix of males and females, and at the end of the growing period they will be collected and transported to a processing plant.

In a letter confirming the plans had been approved, the council’s head of property, planning and public protection Gwilym Davies had stipulated a number of conditions that developers need to fulfil before they can build the units.

One of these conditions is that a passing bay needed to be built along the county highway that leads up to the farm.

This was for reasons of highway safety.

In a further “non-material amendment” planning application just approved by Powys planners – this condition has been removed, which means that it does not have to be built.

Trefeglwys Community Council had opposed the scheme.

They had concerns over the size of the development as well as the need for “major” changes to the nearby roads to accommodate a rise in journeys back and forth to the farm.

Agent, Mandy Seedhouse of Berry’s, had said in documents supporting the application that road improvements had already been made.

Ms Seedhouse said: “This access route was improved as part of the existing egg layer unit under the consent.

“The road improvements consisted of localised widening and surface improvements to the farm access road, geometry improvements for use by articulated HGVs (Heavy Goods Vehicles) at the farm access road junction, a series of passing places along the C-class road and geometry and visibility improvements at the junction between the C-class road and the B4569.

“A total of four passing places were provided along the C-class road to allow passing by slow-moving traffic.”

A further sustainable drainage application (SuDS) will need to be approved before building work can start.