Plans hatched for large egg farm with 32,000 hens

Plans for a large egg farm housing tens of thousands of hens have been hatched.

The proposal at Bradfords Farm, near Marsh Benham in Berkshire, could see about 32,000 chickens housed in the new facility.

There are currently six poultry houses on the site, with plans proposing these be demolished and replaced with a new purpose-built free range egg-laying unit.

Critics have raised concerns over the impact the large unit would have on the landscape, as well as worries over bird flu.

Local residents also questioned the free range credentials of such a large site.

"If it's three levels, how can this be described as free range; they're not running around outside as they do now," one objector told West Berkshire Council planners.

The plans say the egg-laying building would be subdivided into two bird housing sections, together with a service area at the western end which would include packing and storage facilities, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Hens would lay eggs for 70 weeks before being sold and replaced, the proposals state.

The bird housing areas include rows of tiered perches, which are situated over manure belts, with automated chain feeders and non-drip nipple drinkers also included.

Following laying, the eggs would roll from the nest box onto a conveyor belt to the proposed structure's service area.

Another objector said: "The facility would appear as a harsh intrusion into the open countryside that would be visually intrusive and would have a harmful urbanising impact on the appearance, the wider character of the area."

Marsh Benham Conservation Area lies less than 0.6 miles (1km) away from the site.

A nearby public footpath in the same field as the development is in "constant use" objectors said, adding that the field was home to an array of wildlife including deer, red kites and badgers.

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