Over 1,000 objections to Oxfordshire chicken farm vanish

West Oxfordshire District Council has released a statement after a number of objections to a boiler breeder farm on the edge of Bampton seemed to a disappear from the planning page.

The issue was first reported on Thursday, May 21, when a member of the public said they were no longer on the planning application’s website (26/00770/FUL).

READ MORE: Around 250 objections to major Oxfordshire chicken farm

Responding to this later that day, a spokesperson for West Oxfordshire District Council said: “Application 26/00770/FUL this morning experienced a technical difficulty causing the comments to not be displayed on the website.

“However, this issue has now been resolved, and the comments are now viewable on the website.”

Deanery Farm near Bampton (Image: Google Maps)

The wider application, which is running until June 2, has proven highly controversial with more than 1,000 objections currently logged against the proposal for Deanery Farm, which would include 36,000 hens and more roosters.

Communities Against Factory Farming has raised objections including around air quality and ammonia, water supply and hydrology, waste management, and the risk of avian influenza.

Meanwhile Richard McBrien, chair of the Society for the Protection of Bampton, listed 17 specific points of opposition.

Oxfordshire farmer Patrick Hook

He said: “In the absence of robust, site-specific evidence demonstrating that odour, air quality, and environmental impacts can be effectively controlled, and having regard to the proximity of sensitive receptors including residential properties and a primary school, the proposal gives rise to a clear and unacceptable risk of harm.”

Deanery Farm was purchased by P D Hook Group, a leading UK poultry breeder and rearer, in 2023 with broiler breeder farms raising parent-stock chickens (hens and roosters) to produce fertile eggs, which are then sent to hatcheries to become broiler chickens (chickens bred for meat).

Patrick Hook, owner of the 75-year-old family-owned poultry farming business, said: “We have nearly 40 farms in the south and north of England with a strong positive reputation with local residents, retailers and the agricultural industry.”

The meeting in Bampton about the chicken farm (Image: Contributed)

He added it would be built to strict environmental standards, which means wastewater is captured in tanks, litter is taken from the farm and a natural fertiliser is used.

Furthermore, Mr Hook spoke to residents at a meeting on Wednesday, May 20, to try and ease fears of concerned locals.

One spectator said he spoke “eloquently” and tried to calm concerns about an ammonia hotspot around the Primary School in Bampton.

READ MORE: UK firm defends plans for 36,000-chicken Oxfordshire farm

“The UK chicken market is seeing strong demand for Red Tractor British Chicken,” Mr Hook told this newspaper.

He continued: “If we fail to get planning to build more poultry farms, we are increasing the risk of sub-standard imports coming in from countries such as China, which is now the eighth largest importer of poultry meat into the UK.

“With increasing global volatility we must support growth in British agriculture to help the country’s food security.”