Major boost for campaign against polluting poultry units in Kennet floodplain

Environment Agency instigates formal objection

Campaigners in Berkshire’s Kennet Valley have welcomed the news that the Environment Agency has now escalated their letter of concern to a “formal objection” over plans to build a large intensive poultry unit to house 32,000 chickens in the floodplain of the River Kennet – a highly sensitive Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Serious concerns have also been raised by Natural England, the government body charged with protecting SSSIs.

Residents and angling clubs have been working with the Angling Trust and Fish Legal to coordinate objections to plans by Sutton’s Estate, which will eventually be considered by West Berkshire Council’s Western Area Planning Committee. All groups have expressed serious concerns about the risk of nutrient pollution – including nitrates, phosphates, and ammonia – leaching into the river and underlying groundwater. This increase in agricultural runoff threatens to further degrade the ecological health of the middle Kennet, which was downgraded to ‘Poor’ status in 2022 under the Water Framework Directive, with diffuse agricultural pollution identified as a key contributing factor.

The Environment Agency’s formal objection, which campaigners have described as a “game changer”, is based on the following key points:

• The effect on the River Kennet SSSI and Chalk Stream Priority Habitat
• Insufficient information from the applicant on addressing pollution risks
• Direct hydraulic connection to the Kennet and surrounding SSSI via groundwater
• Potential pollution of both groundwater and the River Kennet
• Risk of polluting wash-off from manure spreading

Solicitors at Fish Legal, which acts against polluters on behalf of its member angling clubs, have also submitted further objections on behalf of Newbury and Civil Service Angling Associations, stating:

“Our members’ fishing grounds are located on the River Kennet SSSI and the Kennet and Avon Canal, both of which are in very close proximity to the proposed site and are therefore at increased risk of nutrient run-off. The Groundwater Report notes that there is a hydrogeological connection to the River Kennet SSSI which is located south of the proposed site. As it is only 190m downhill of the proposed site, it is not difficult to imagine an intense rainfall event causing significant damage.”

The River Kennet is one of around 200 precious chalk streams in the world, supporting a unique and fragile ecosystem renowned for its wildlife and fish species such as trout and grayling. It is already under pressure from sewage, agricultural pollution, and habitat degradation.

Martin Salter, long-time Kennet angler and Head of Policy at the Angling Trust, commented:

“Sutton’s Estate should now recognise that the game is up and withdraw their irresponsible application to locate a polluting poultry unit on the edge of the Kennet floodplain, just a few hundred metres from a highly protected SSSI. As major landowners with over 16,000 acres at their disposal, they have plenty of other options well away from this precious chalk stream.”

Dougie Hull, Chairman of Newbury AA, said:

“This issue is a major wake-up call for all river catchment areas, not just the River Kennet. Our green and pleasant land, and the rivers that sustain it, are put at serious risk by industrial farming practices such as these, which are driven solely by profit and convenience, and demonstrate a lack of care for the environment.”

Local resident and campaigner Janet Coleman added:

“We are grateful and hugely encouraged by the Environment Agency’s strong objection to this local landowner’s application for an intensive poultry unit in an AONB, so close to the River Kennet SSSI. We feel it is a ‘game changer’ for our campaign. The EA’s welcome stance should give others hope that our national regulatory body now takes this threat to our environment very seriously. The local planning authority should now follow suit and refuse all applications for these potentially polluting poultry factories in sensitive areas.”

You can download a copy of the EA’s objection here