Support us from £3/month
We deal with almost 1000 cases a year assisting communities, groups and individuals in protecting their local spaces and paths in all parts of England and Wales. Can you help us by joining as a member?
We have objected to plans for a poultry farm in open countryside at Starveall Farm, Ashchurch, near Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire. The society has sent its objection to Tewkesbury Borough Council because of the effect the development would have on an ancient public path.
Says Michael Hill, a member of the society who lives nearby: ‘I have farmed at Pamington since 1951 and, thanks to the hard work of my father, we have a very good farm. This proposed broiler farm would not only ruin the current farming business, but it would harm the historic farm-track, known as Starveall Lane, (previously named Pamington Furze Road). This lane is recorded in the Inclosure Act and was to be used for the good husbandry of the land, not as an industrial unit. The lane is a public footpath and is used by many residents of the village.’
Adds Kate Ashbrook, our general secretary: ‘The poultry farm will require much vehicular traffic along the historic Starveall Lane. The applicant, FC Jones and Co of Herefordshire, intends to upgrade the path for shared access, with a hard surface and signs. We fear that if the route is “improved” to accommodate large vehicles, it will lose its rural character. It is likely to be suburbanised by the surfacing and signs, which are out of keeping with the countryside.
‘This important route links directly with the Gloucestershire Way long-distance path to the south. This is a popular area for walkers. It is no place for an industrial operation.’