Residents Unite to Oppose Factory Farm Proposal Near Ripon
10 June 2026
More than 50 local residents came together at a public meeting to oppose a new factory farm in Melmerby, North Yorkshire on 9 June.
Residents voiced concerns about the megafarm’s potential impact on local air quality, as well as threats to animal welfare and the environment.
If approved, the intensive poultry unit (IPU) would house 360,000 broiler chickens at any one time, which would mean more than 2.7 million chickens a year. [1]
Chris Lay, 71, a retired Business Intelligence Director, who lives in Melmerby, said:
“The development of this site would pose a significant public health risk. One glaring issue is the closeness of the site to the A1(M) motorway. Putting a mega chicken farm, which would emit thousands of tonnes of ammonia gas each year right next to a busy road would create a toxic chemical cocktail, and the resulting plumes would cause or exacerbate respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, especially for vulnerable residents. Yet, the planning assessment completely overlooks interactions with other pollutants, which is a significant and concerning oversight."
Ammonia can react with vehicle-derived pollutants to form secondary particulate matter, worsening air pollution and increasing risks to public health and sensitive habitats.
Another Melmerby resident said: “The proposed IPU is masquerading as being sustainable yet its development will have a huge detrimental impact on the environment in the local area and beyond.”
The proposed site is close to Salmist Beck Carr Site of Importance for Nature Conservation, an ecologically sensitive landscape which is located only 1.7km away.
Residents expressed concern about the waste from 2.7 million chickens washing into local waterways, especially given the poor health of the River Ure. [2] Like many of England’s rivers, this waterway is already under severe pressure from chicken farming. [3] [4] [5] While the applicant states the waste will go to Thetford Power Station, this is due to close in 2027, and no guarantee of credible alternative has been detailed in the application.
At the meeting in Melmerby and Middleton Quernhow Village Hall, residents also expressed worry for the birds that would be confined inside the factory farm.
The intensive facility would use fast-growing breeds, which live for only 38 days, during which time their bodies grow so unnaturally fast that they often have trouble walking.
Communities Against Factory Farming (CAFF) is supporting local residents. [6]
Maya Pardo, Legal Coordinator at CAFF, said:
“Residents of Melmerby and surrounding villages are rightly concerned about detrimental impacts to their quality of life if this mega development were approved. The birds confined in these sorts of intensive facilities are bred to grow at an unnaturally fast rate, so they will suffer horribly throughout their short lives.
“People are concerned about the animal welfare impacts of confining 60,000 birds to a single shed, and they don’t want the smells, noise and disturbances of having a factory farm on their doorstep. So, it’s no surprise that this application has provoked such strong local opposition.”
ENDS
Word Count: 503
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.
High res image here: https://show.pics.io/caff
All images and videos in this file, 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 for Editors:
[2] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7vln9n15zmo
[5] Pollution from agriculture negatively impacts 40% of the water bodies in England, see: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/environment-agency-chief-regulators-report-2023-24/environment-agency-chief-regulators-report-2023-24