Company advised to drop poultry farm bid

A council planning officer has advised a company to drop a controversial bid to build a new poultry farm near a Perthshire village which drew over 240 objections during a public consultation.

The officer wrote to Aviagen over a week ago to say the local authority cannot support its application to house as many 26,000 birds on land south west of Murthly as it has yet to see a clear set of reasons why the development must be sited there.

A consultant acting for the company told PKC in a supporting statement sent to planners last year the site had been selected for “several reasons”including“its excellent bio-security status”and its“agricultural setting”.

Iain Boyd of SAC Consulting also said the site had been chosen as it was considered to be“well located in relation to Aviagen’s other farms”and this would enable “good transport logistics between facilities”.

However PKC planning officer Callum Petrie has now advised the company to withdraw its current application and only reapply to build on the site if it can provide proof it considered other sites first and demonstrate links with other sites under its ownership.

Mr Petrie has also recommended Aviagen either reconsider its plans to“remove” sections of a stone dyke surrounding the site known as a “ha ha”wall as part of the proposed development, or provide evidence showing why these sections cannot be retained.

He said in a letter sent to Mr

Boyd dated January 14:“If the applicant can demonstrate the proximity and accessibility of this site in relation to other farms, this may be considered to go far enough to satisfy the requirement for an existing site-specific opportunity.

“A clear and transparent review of the alternative sites in the background would also go some way to addressing concerns set out in a number of the objection comments received.”

Turning to the subject of the“ha ha”wall Mr Petrie continued:“In seeking to address this element and in line with discussions, a full review of the current proposal is recommended, with consideration given to the redrawing of the current proposals ... to ensure no physical impact on the ha ha, optimally, with a minimum 10 metre buffer provided.”

A spokesperson for Aviagen said:“Consultation is a vital part of any planning process and we fully respect the role it plays.

“This detailed outline of the improvements now needed to secure planning consent are extremely helpful.”