Locals Protest Against Cranswick Factory Farm Poultry Incubator in Weybread
18 May 2026
Dozens of Weybread residents took part in a peaceful protest outside the Crown Inn pub on Friday 15 May to express opposition to agricultural giant Cranswick’s controversial planning application for an industrial egg incubator in the village.
If approved, the mega facility would hatch an estimated 169 million chicks every year, which would then be transported to an estimated 150 intensive chicken farms across the region.
Adrian Ramsay, MP for Waveney Valley, who spoke at the protest, said:
"I was pleased to stand with the Weybread community outside the Crown Inn pub to voice our opposition to Cranswick's proposal to turn the village into an industrial factory farm complex.
“This monstrous proposal for more intensive animal agriculture infrastructure is exactly the opposite of what our communities need. Factory farming has a disastrous environmental impact on our rivers, as well as being cruel to billions of sentient animals.
“Rather than the disruption of dozens of HGV movements and the pollution of our beautiful Waveney Valley, I welcome alternative plans to re-open the pub as a community asset, and bring more affordable housing to the area."
Communities Against Factory Farming (CAFF), which has supported residents in opposing the application, attended the protest.
Harley Brewer from CAFF said:
“Cranswick wants to rip the Weybread community apart and demolish this village’s only pub so that it can install an industrial egg factory. All across the UK, we’ve seen the harms that factory farming is causing, whether it’s plagues of flies or rivers so polluted that no wildlife can survive.
“Half a million chicks a day would pass through this small village on HGVs, taken to intensive factory farms around the region. This industrial mega unit would ruin the lives of residents and cause suffering to millions of sentient beings, all to boost the profits of a billion-pound company. This isn’t farming; it’s a factory, and communities have had enough.”
Protestors urged the Planning Committee to ‘Say No Factory Farming’ and ‘Save Our Pub’, with residents holding signs such as ‘Weybread is rural, not industrial’.
The Crown Inn, which is now owned by Cranswick and has been closed since 2015, used to be a community hub, with a beautiful garden area and lively folk music events, residents say. It would be demolished to build the giant egg incubation factory.
Sally Mittuch, Weybread resident and councillor for Hoxne & Eye, said:
“Weybread’s one and only pub should be a place where locals can meet with neighbours and friends and welcome visitors, where we can enjoy good food, coffee and drinks, where we can share ideas and offer support from within the community. While Cranswick has a vision for Weybread that involves pumping out millions of eggs for factory farming, our local group has put forward an alternative proposal for a community-owned pub and eco-homes.”
Cranwick’s planning application has received thousands of objections [1].
ENDS
High res images here: https://show.pics.io/weybread-protest-15-05-26
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