Residents Alarmed as 110,000-Bird Broiler Unit Planned Near Local Primary School in Braintree
Local residents leafleting in Braintree
Campaigners are urging Braintree District Council to reject a planning application at Hubbards Farm after uncovering evidence suggesting the proposal masks a significant expansion of intensive poultry production on the site.
Although the planning statement avoids specifying bird numbers, the environmental permit application reveals a proposed capacity of 109,628 broiler chickens, producing more than 833,000 birds per year [1].
Communities Against Factory Farming (CAFF) are supporting local residents to legally challenge this harmful development [2].
Hubbards Farm has submitted a planning application that, on closer inspection, represents a major shift in the site’s operations. Previously housing fewer than 40,000 turkeys, the farm now proposes to demolish two existing turkey sheds and replace them with two modern poultry houses designed for much higher stocking densities. Yet the planning application refers only to a single replacement shed and makes no mention of the transition to chickens or the scale of intensification. Permit documents, however, confirm a planned capacity of 109,628 broiler chickens. Campaigners warn that approving new industrial poultry buildings would effectively lock in factory farming at Hubbards Farm for 40–50 years or more, at a time when intensive livestock systems are increasingly recognised as environmentally damaging and incompatible with long‑term climate and nature recovery goals.
Animal welfare concerns are also significant. The number of birds was absent from the planning forms, therefore councillors cannot assess the welfare implications of the proposed stocking levels, such as the birds’ inability to express natural behaviours in such crowded conditions. The permit application confirms a capacity of 109,628 birds, equating to a stocking density of around 39kg/m². This is almost four times higher than the 11kg/m² recommended by the European Food Safety Authority to prevent suffering [3].
The planning application also contains insufficient information to assess environmental impacts. Hubbards Farm lies within the catchments of the River Pant and River Brain, and neither of which had a good ecological status in 2022 [4]. Despite the large volume of manure and litter generated by more than 100,000 birds, the planning documents include no manure management plan, leaving major gaps in the assessment of water pollution risks, greenhouse gas emissions and the carbon footprint associated with transporting waste off‑site.
Campaigners are concerned that concentrating 109,628 broiler chickens just 350 metres from Shalford Primary School and 85 metres from nearby homes poses an unacceptable zoonotic risk, particularly given the role of intensive poultry units in the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1. The planning application fails to assess the hazards associated with chronic exposure to bioaerosols, ammonia or disease transmission in close proximity to a school.
The Royal College of Physicians’ report ‘A Breath of Fresh Air’ (2025) warns that particulate matter, linked to cardiovascular disease, asthma, lung cancer, reduced life expectancy, and many other health issues, remains the most damaging pollutant to public health, with sectors such as agriculture still falling behind on emission reductions [5]. The severity of this issue has led the Environmental Audit Committee to open an investigation into ammonia pollution [6].
High‑value conservation sites, including Bovingdon Hall Woods SSSI and Levelly Wood Ancient Woodland, lie within 5km of the site and are highly sensitive to nitrogen deposition [7]. The planning submission omits the detailed ammonia modelling required to protect these habitats from irreversible ecological damage.
Miranda Forsey, 63, a Research Nurse from Shalford said:
“People here are really worried about what this expansion means for our community. We’ve all seen the animal welfare issues linked to large poultry operations, and it’s hard not to ignore those concerns when an existing unit is proposed to grow so significantly. Then there’s the smell. Anyone living near an intensive site knows how strong the ammonia and odours can be. With a primary school just down the road, it’s completely understandable that residents are anxious about how increased activity will affect the air we all have to breathe.”
Jo Lazarus, Campaign Coordinator, Communities Against Factory Farming said:
“Factory farming causes immense animal suffering and has devastating consequences for our environment, water and air quality, as well as for the communities forced to live alongside it. The public health implications of ammonia, odour and air pollution from a 110,000‑bird unit are well‑documented, yet none of this is made clear in the planning documents. Communities deserve transparency, not paperwork that masks the true scale and impact of factory farming.”
Campaigners argue that the planning application is fundamentally incomplete, omitting critical information contained only in the environmental permit documents. They are calling on Braintree District Council to reject the proposal on the grounds of inadequate disclosure, unacceptable environmental and public health risks, and the long‑term consequences of locking in intensive poultry production for decades to come.
CAFF has supported communities across the UK in challenging unlawful or 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 [8] [9] [10].
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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] Planning Application https://publicaccess.braintree.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=T703ECBFMKQ00
[2] CAFF Campaign for Hubbard’s Farm https://www.caff.org.uk/hubbards
[3] Recommended stock density by EFSA https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2903/j.efsa.2010.1666
[4] River Status https://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/
[5] 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
[6] The Environmental Audit Committee investigation into ammonia pollution https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026-02-17/mps-pledge-to-investigate-toxic-gas-from-animal-farming
[7] Ancient woodland, ancient trees and veteran trees: advice for making planning decisions
[8] 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/
[9] Planning permission for 310,000-chicken intensive poultry unit in Norfolk to be quashed, Landmark Chambers, 2025 https://www.landmarkchambers.co.uk/news-and-cases/cases/planning-permission-for-310-000-chicken-intensive-poultry-unit-in-norfolk-to-be-quashed
[10] Reversal of Devon Intensive Dairy Farm Planning Permission Celebrated by Locals https://www.caff.org.uk/press/northcombe-overturned