Damning Air Quality Report For Proposed Lincolnshire Factory Farm, As Public Consultation Re-Opens

9 Sept

Campaign poster objecting to Grange Farm

An air quality assessment for four intensive poultry units in East Lindsey reveals potentially grave health impacts for local residents if planning permission is granted[1].

The applicant has submitted a new environmental statement, prompting a fresh public consultation, which will stay open until 18 September for residents to submit objections.

The public consultation for an intensive poultry unit in Toynton St Peter, East Lindsey has re-opened[2], while a new air quality assessment has found that particulate matter emissions at the site would be almost three times higher than at Gatwick Northern Runway.

Particulate matter refers to tiny particles in the air that you inhale, consisting of things like ammonia, dust, and nitrates [3]. There are 25 houses within 700 metres of the site.

Dr Michael Bull’s air quality assessment report found that the proposed development for four intensive poultry units at Grange Farm would result in more than 7.5 tonnes of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) being emitted each year [1]. These emissions would also cause more than £1 million of damages over five years, the report states.

CAFF Campaigns Coordinator Bini Pitwell commented: “The devastating impact of fine particulate matter on the health of local people is plain to see in Dr Bull’s report. Lincolnshire residents are fighting back against factory farm expansion that puts the most vulnerable residents at risk, and we urge the planning committee to listen to their voices.”

Exposure to particulate matter can result in serious health impacts, especially in vulnerable groups such as the young, elderly, and those with respiratory problems. “This scale of emissions cannot be considered to be insignificant,” the report states.

Local residents have until 18 September to submit objections. The Coalition Against Factory Farming (CAFF) is supporting local residents who have concerns about the proposed IPU and has created a template from which objectors can take inspiration [4].

To date, the proposal has received 439 objections from local residents and those opposed to factory farm expansion [5]. Concerned residents have also formed the Toynton Action Group to oppose the development [6], and villagers have submitted a petition against the proposal [7].

Local resident Carol Free commented: “Our local community will be forced to breathe air thick with dust particles and the stench of ammonia, including the spread of pathogens in the air and pollution to the soil.”

Residents are also worried about the applicant’s history of not fulfilling planning conditions. Notably, it has failed to plant any trees around the anaerobic digester plant for which it received permission in 2014 [8].

Intensive Poultry Units of this size require both an Environmental Permit and Planning Permission to operate. The applicant has already applied for an Environmental Permit, to which members of the Toynton Action Group and CAFF objected.

The new air quality assessment says that The Royal College of Physicians released a report in June 2025, ‘A Breath of Fresh Air’, highlighting the connection between particulate matter and “cardiovascular conditions, asthma, lung cancer and overall life expectancy as well as impacts on conception, pregnancy outcome, respiratory health in children and brain health. It also notes that while action has been taken to reduce emission from some sources, some sectors including agriculture are lagging behind.”

In recognition of the dire health impacts of particulate matter, Defra has released interim planning guidance on particulate matter, following the creation of targets to reduce particulate matter under the Environment Act 2021. “Given the scale of the emissions,” the report states, “this application is not considered to have complied with the requirements of the Defra Interim Planning guidance.’

Lincolnshire already has 192 factory farms, the most of any UK county. The development would bring another 1.3 million chickens a year to East Lindsey, increasing bird flu risks and polluting fragile local waterways.

ENDS

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High-Quality Pictures and Videos: https://show.pics.io/grange-farm

All images and videos in this file, on our social media, and website can be used with credit to The Coalition Against Factory Farming under ‘fair use’ for the purposes of reporting.