Knighton Chicken Farm Judicial Review

Judicial review of a decision permitting two ‘intensive poultry units’ (IPUs) – large buildings comprising a proposed industrial-scale chicken farm outside of Knighton, Wales. The IPUs would have housed 110,000 ‘broiler’ chickens at a time – about 825,000 chickens each year. After permission was granted by a High Court Judge, the Council consented to its decision being quashed.

Richard Buxton Solicitors was instructed by Sustainable Food Knighton (SFK) after referral by the Environmental Law Foundation. The claimant was an individual member of SFK who brought the claim on the organisation’s behalf.

There were seven grounds of challenge raising a number of issues including that ammonia emissions from the farm had not been properly accounted for, breach of the Habitats Regulations and Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations, and whether the Council had properly considered the objections of Natural Resources Wales in relation to potential harm to a protected species.

After permission was granted to proceed to a full judicial review on all seven grounds in December 2020, the Council accepted that the decision had been unlawful and consented to judgment on the basis that it had not properly considered the impacts on amenity from the potential spreading of manure arising from the development. The final order quashing the planning permission was made by the Court in March.

Richard Buxton Solicitors instructed Philippa Jackson and Ruth Keating at 39 Essex Chambers for the Claimant.