The Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy & Planning, Rebecca Evans MS, has announced that 12 planning applications for poultry units in Powys have been “called- in” for consideration. These applications have been the subject of Welsh Government holding directives since March 2023, leaving applicants in limbo and facing large financial uncertainty, as no decision was able to be made by Powys Planning Authority.
James Evans MS commented:
“This latest announcement brings an end to the uncertainty for many caught up in this limbo, but I am concerned that we have Welsh Labour Ministers in Cardiff Bay who have no connection with Powys, give little support to Welsh farming and who fail to value our food security. There have been great strides made to improve poultry units and in the disposal of their waste. There is no longer a ‘spread everywhere’ policy on manure, and we now have far tighter on-farm controls and regulations. Much of the manure is now being exported out to areas in need of phosphate and away from the Wye catchment. Some suppliers, like Avara, have gone further and introduced supply-chain changes to lower stocking densities in poultry units. The technological advances to dry out the manure and process on-farm are improving rapidly and this innovation should be supported by Welsh Government.
"I hope that Welsh Labour Government will recognise the improvements being made in the poultry sector in Powys and give the go ahead to these planning applications. Environmentalists may call for these units to be banned, but with the UK customers demand for chicken and eggs increasing, if not reared in Wales, then where? We already see imported chicken on supermarket shelves, with around 20% coming from countries like Thailand and Brazil, where environmental damage is huge, and welfare and hygiene standards remain far lower than that of the UK.”
