PLANS to expand a Suffolk chicken farm to house more than 200,000 birds at a time have been refused.

Lizzie Parry

PLANS to expand a Suffolk chicken farm to house more than 200,000 birds at a time have been refused.

The proposals were rejected at the meeting of the planning committee B of Mid Suffolk District Council yesterday, with councillors raising concerns about the impact the planned expansion would have on the road network in the area.

The proposals were submitted to the council last year by Mid Suffolk Poultry and relate to the company's Ebdens Farm site at Pixey Green, near Stradbroke, which currently has the capacity to hold just over 80,000 birds.

The expansion plans were submitted due to a growing demand for new chicken production sites that meet modern environmental standards.

A spokeswoman for Mid Suffolk District Council said: “Following a verbal report by Suffolk County Council Principle Highway Engineer at the planning meeting today, members were recommended to refuse this application for two highway related reasons; the approval of this application would lead to an unacceptable increase of heavy goods traffic on the highway, and due to the failure to complete a Section 106 Planning Obligation, a legal document that sets out how the applicant would resolve issues and concerns.

“For this application the issues were specifically relating to traffic measures/management and a landscape management scheme/regime.”

Stradbroke and Fressingfield parish councils sent in their objections to the plans, along with residents living nearby.

The chairs of both Stradbroke and Fressingfield parish councils were unavailable for comment last night.