Locals Tell Factory Farm to ‘Cluck Off’ at Packed Residents’ Meeting
Almost 50 local residents gathered last night (18/08/2026) to oppose plans for a new factory farm between Rushden and Sharnbrook on the Northamptonshire-Bedfordshire border. [1]
Some 47 local people came together in Sharnbrook Village Hall to discuss plans to stop the intensive poultry unit (IPU).
If approved, this IPU would confine 314,000 birds at any one time across six sheds.
Attendees voiced concerns about animal welfare, increased traffic and air pollution, among other things.
Mike Hulands, age 72, who lives in Rushden, said:
“My community faces a devastating cocktail of industrial stench, flooding, flies, vermin and HGVs navigating the busy A6. I have serious health concerns over toxic ammonia emissions and fine particulate matter that threaten our air quality and well-being. This development also threatens to decimate local biodiversity.
“I urge planning officials to discount outdated environmental models. Our health, safety, and natural heritage cannot be sacrificed for corporate factory farming. Cluck Off to factory farming in Rushden!”
The meeting was organised by Communities Against Factory Farming (CAFF), which is supporting local residents opposing the IPU. [2]
Local campaign group ‘Cluck Off’ were present and spoke about the campaign so far, which stretches back to 2018 when the Westwood application was first submitted. [3]
Jo Lazarus, Campaign Coordinator at Communities Against Factory Farming (CAFF), said:
“This application to cram 2.3 million chickens a year into sheds where they will never see the light of day is immensely cruel and, as we saw last night, deeply unpopular with local residents.
“Communities are against intensive chicken farming because it causes intolerable smells for neighbours, harms local air and water quality, and replaces a rural way of life with soulless industrial facilities. It is inspiring to see how this community has come together to tell intensive animal agriculture to Cluck Off.”
The application on North Northamptonshire Council’s website has so far received 2,588 public comments, of which only one in favour of the development.
Newton Bromswold Parish Council and Felmersham & Radwell Parish Council have both submitted objections, highlighting issues such as odours and environmental risks to the River Great Ouse.
Roger Barnes, 83, a Retired Tree Surgeon from Newton Bromswold, added:
“It is disgusting that the chickens never see a blade of grass or a ray of sunshine in their cruel pathetic life."
At the meeting, residents raised concerns about manure being spread on fields all across the area, close to residential homes and new housing developments. Fields in villages including Knotting, Bletsoe, Milton Ernest and Radwell would all receive manure from the IPU, documents show. [4]
As well as appalling stenches, manure spreading from intensive chicken farming causes severe impacts for waterways, which has put several of the UK’s rivers at peril of ecological destruction. [5] Levels of phosphates and nitrates in the River Great Ouse are well above safe levels, with manure from intensive chicken farms one of the primary culprits. [6]
CAFF lends legal expertise to the local campaign, having successfully overturned through judicial review four factory farms that had been approved by local councils. [7]
Among other deficiencies, this application does not include sufficient detail on greenhouse gas emissions, including on the cumulative impacts, to enable meaningful public scrutiny or lawful decision-making, CAFF’s comprehensive objection letter notes. [8]
Charlotte Archer, 50, a Project Manager from Newton Bromswold, summed up the mood on the night:
“Tonight showed what we can achieve together. Partnering with CAFF gives us the collective power and focus to make our objections count. Cluck off to factory farming!”
ENDS
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Communities Against Factory Farming (CAFF) works 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.
All images in this press release, on our social media, and on our website can be used with credit to Communities Against Factory Farming under ‘fair use’ for the purposes of reporting.
For more information or further comments, please contact:
Daniel (Press Back Office), press@caff.org.uk
Notes to Editors
[2] https://www.caff.org.uk/westwood