Farm with 36,000 chickens planned near Oxfordshire village

A planning application for the broiler breeder farm has been submitted to West Oxfordshire District Council by P D Hook Group Limited.

If successful, they would build four new poultry houses at the site just north of Bampton with housing for approximately 36,000 female birds plus males, with 9,000 female birds in each house.

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Its planning application (26/00770/FUL) will run until May 1, 2026, when it will go to the council’s committee.

Typical example of poultry buildings (Image: Acorus Planning & Design)

Deanery Farm, near to the Oxfordshire village, was purchased by P D Hook Group – a leading UK poultry breeder and rearer – in 2023.

Broiler breeder farms raise parent-stock chickens (hens and roosters) to produce fertile eggs, which are sent to hatcheries to become broiler chickens (chickens bred for meat).

The cover letter to the application states: “The UK Industry is short of broiler breeder farms, and consequently hatching eggs.

Deanery Farm near Bampton (Image: Google Maps)

“This is due to avian influenza and the loss of farms to the egg laying sector.

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“There is strong growth for UK Red Tractor produced chicken and due to the shortage of UK hatching eggs, the industry is now importing these eggs from Europe.

“The investment in broiler breeder farms is of significant importance for food security and ensuring there is a resilient and sustainable supply of UK produced hatching eggs to meet demand for the domestic market.”

All the eggs produced by the 36,000 hens would be sent to another facility owned by the group to be reared.