Communities Challenge Two Major Poultry Mega‑Farm Expansions in North Lincolnshire
Locals out leafleting against Hibaldstow Farm in Brigg
Two planning applications to massively expand intensive poultry operations in Hibaldstow and Wrawby have triggered strong opposition from local residents in North Lincolnshire, supported by Communities Against Factory Farming (CAFF).
Both proposals would significantly increase the scale of industrial poultry production in the area, adding a combined 3.6 million extra chickens per year, with major implications for air quality, odour, traffic, landscape, and animal welfare.
Hibaldstow
A planning application has been submitted to expand an existing broiler chicken factory farm in Hibaldstow, Brigg. The farm currently houses 397,000 chickens, and the proposed development would add a further 264,000 birds, increasing throughput by 1.8 million chickens per year [1].
This site is understood to be operated by Hook2Sisters, now part of Boparan, one of the UK’s largest poultry conglomerates. The applicant, Amber REI Ltd, is a Boparan subsidiary. Boparan/Hook2Sisters operates 170 intensive farms across the UK and reported £964.2m in sales last year [2].
An independent air quality assessment found that odours would nearly double as a result of the development and highlighted the risk of increased ammonia emissions on nearby nature sites.[3] MPs are investigating ammonia emissions from agriculture as part of the environment audit select committee’s inquiry into air pollution, in recognition of the impacts on health and nature of air pollution from agriculture. [4] A report released by the Royal College of Physicians last year highlighted that agriculture is falling behind on emissions reductions of air pollution, warning that particulate matter (PM2.5) (of which ammonia is a contributor) is linked to cardiovascular disease, asthma, and reduced life expectancy. [5] [6]
Wrawby
A second application seeks to expand the operational poultry unit at Wrawby Farm, also operated by Hook2Sisters/Boparan from 10 to 16 sheds, increasing capacity from 307,000 birds to an additional 264,000 birds per crop, resulting in around 1.8 million extra birds per year [7] [8].
Local people have expressed deep concern about the impact on the landscape, air quality, and the character of the surrounding countryside.
Tori Wilson, 19, a maintenance engineer apprentice from Grasby, said:
“As someone who has been local to the area since being a child and has taken pride and experienced joy from the local environmental beauty which the development of Wrawby Farm challenges, it is massively important to me to take a stand against it to protect the area.”
An air quality report by Dr Bull found that the proposed poultry development would cause odour, ammonia and particulate pollution far above accepted health and environmental thresholds, lacks the required PM2.5 assessment or mitigation, and therefore does not meet DEFRA planning guidance. [9].
Both applications reflect a wider national trend of large agribusinesses seeking to expand intensive poultry operations despite mounting public concern about environmental harm, animal welfare, and the industrialisation of rural landscapes.
CAFF has supported communities across the UK in challenging harmful intensive farming developments. In the past year alone, CAFF has helped overturn multiple planning applications for intensive farming units after legal challenges revealed failures in environmental assessment and planning procedure [10] [11] [12].
Residents in Hibaldstow and Wrawby hope that their councils will take these precedents seriously and ensure that environmental risks, cumulative impacts, and community objections are fully considered before any decision is made.
Jo Lazarus, CAFF Campaign Coordinator, said:
“People in Hibaldstow and Wrawby are being asked to live alongside industrial‑scale poultry units that bring real risks of pollution, odour, and harm to local landscapes and public spaces. These proposals would entrench a form of farming that many people are uncomfortable with, one that relies on vast numbers of birds kept indoors in intensive conditions.”
“Councils should be promoting sustainable, nature‑positive forms of food production, not enabling further industrial expansion. We’re calling on North Lincolnshire Council to listen to residents and reject both applications.”
ENDS
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About CAFF
Communities Against Factory Farming (CAFF) works closely with residents across the UK to review planning applications for intensive farms and submit strong, evidence‑based planning objections. The organisation has helped communities block and overturn multiple intensive poultry unit applications when councils overlooked key environmental and animal‑welfare issues.
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Notes to Editors
[1] Hibaldstow Planning Application: https://apps.northlincs.gov.uk/application/pa-2025-1350
[2] Just Food “2 Sisters Food Group sells joint venture to Boparan Private Office”
https://www.just-food.com/news/2-sisters-food-group-sells-joint-venture-to-boparan-private-office/
[3] Air quality report (Hibaldstow): https://static1.squarespace.com/static/682cad4152f5f9059c0c2728/t/6994621400f26e3e401931ef/1771332116966/Air+Quality+Report_Hibaldstow_Final.pdf
[4] ‘MPs pledge to investigate toxic gas from animal farming: Government inquiry into air pollution will zero in on ammonia after we revealed a surge in levels around chicken farms’ https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026-02-17/mps-pledge-to-investigate-toxic-gas-from-animal-farming
[5]https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7429516/
[6] The Royal College of Physicians, ‘A Breath of Fresh Air’ https://www.rcp.ac.uk/media/hvbeolvx/21072025-update-rcp-full-report-a-breath-of-fresh-air.pdf
[7] Wrawby Planning Application: https://apps.northlincs.gov.uk/application/pa-2025-1351
[8] Transparent Farms listing (Wrawby): https://transparentfarms.org.uk/facilities/up3830uv-wrawby-farm-poultry-unit
[9] Air quality report (Wrawby): https://static1.squarespace.com/static/682cad4152f5f9059c0c2728/t/69824fb1e02dfd2a35044e00/1770147761315/Air+Quality+Report_Dec-25_v2+FINAL+%281%29.pdf
[10] Shropshire border intensive chicken shed plans overturned after legal challengehttps://www.shropshirelive.com/news/2025/11/26/shropshire-border-intensive-chicken-shed-plans-overturned-after-legal-challenge/
[11] Planning permission for 310,000-chicken intensive poultry unit in Norfolk to be quashed, Landmark Chambers, 2025
[12] Reversal of Devon Intensive Dairy Farm Planning Permission Celebrated by Locals