MORE than 100 worried residents from a string of villages have condemned plans to house 80,000 chickens in open countryside as a “potential environmental disaster”.

A campaign against proposals to create two buildings to be used for broiler rearing at Upton Snodsbury, near Worcester, has been launched.

Villagers from Upton Snodsbury, Cowsden, Naunton Beauchamp, North Piddle and Flyford Flavell have met to discuss how best to oppose the development on land to the north east of Froghall bungalow in Naunton Road.

Christopher Fisher, who lives near North Piddle, said: “It’s a chicken factory not a farm.

“It will house initially 80,000 chickens on a continual rotation and has implications to create huge quantities of smell from the manure, noise from hundreds of lorries on peaceful country roads and the possibility of vermin as a result of the scale.

“The smell will also attract an abundance of flies.”

Pat Stanley has lived at Froghall Farm for 45 years and owns Froghall bungalow, the closest property to the proposed site.

She said: “Our main concerns are smell, pollution, dust and the effect on beautiful, agricultural land.

“We don’t want that sort of farming in an unspoilt area.”

Seven flocks of broiler chickens would be reared annually, with 40,000 birds in both buildings, making a total of 80,000.

The application says units would be cleared of manure after each cycle of about seven weeks to be disposed of as an agricultural fertiliser generally within one day.

After one cycle ends and the unit cleaned, then a new batch would move in and the process continues.

The agents, Ian Pick Associates Ltd, for applicant Edward Davies, whose address is given as Powys, Wales, said the farm would comply with the standards set in the Environmental Protection Regulations.

“In terms of the concerns of local people on smells and noise, this is taken into account.

“The proposed poultry unit requires an Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control permit, which is administered by the Environment Agency.

“The issue of the permit offers a guarantee that the unit operates to the best standards, and any neighbours are protected from adverse impacts, including odour and noise.

“We can confirm the proposed poultry unit will not adversely impact on the living conditions of any neighbouring residents.”