Labour’s agriculture plans will increase chicken waste in rivers, say campaigners
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Steve Reed says planning rules ‘have got in the way’ of farmers and apologises for ‘shock’ of inheritance tax change. Labour’s proposal to loosen planning regulations for farmers will deluge rivers with chicken faeces, environmental campaigners have warned.
The environment secretary, Steve Reed, promised farmers on Thursday they would be able to build larger chicken sheds, but experts have said this would create “megafarms” and contribute to river pollution. Speaking at the annual Oxford Farming Conference, Reed was attempting to rebuild confidence with farmers after widespread anger over changes to inheritance tax and cuts to subsidies. A small protest formed outside the Examination Schools in Oxford where he was speaking and tractor horns partially drowned out his speech.
Reed said: “Planning rules have got in the way for too long. We will speed up the system so you can grow and diversify your farm business, such as chicken producers who need a larger shed to increase the amount of food they produce.”. Craig Bennett, the chief executive of the Wildlife Trusts, said the plans would result in more chicken waste in the UK’s rivers. He said: “The last thing we need in parts of the country like the River Wye is yet more chicken sheds to result in yet more chicken shit going into our rivers, causing yet more pollution. While all of us want to make it easier for farmers to make a decent living out of producing good quality food, we don’t need yet more of a particular form of polluting farming.”.
