TWO new Wye Valley poultry units approved at a farm a year ago have now been refused by Monmouthshire councillors, after their original decision was overturned in court.

The county council’s planning committee granted planning permission in October2024 for two giant chicken sheds to each house 42,000 birds destined for dinner plates at Shirenewton near Chepstow.

But environmental charity the Woodland Trust challenged the decision through the courts, launching a judicial review which determined that the application at Coombe Farm, which already houses 220,000 broiler chickens, should have been accompanied by an environmental impact assessment.

Monmouthshire County Council’s chief planning officer Andrew Jones told the planning committee’s November meeting a new application had since been submitted, but the required environmental statement failed to satisfy the concerns of the council’s in-house ecologist.

Due to the failure to consider the visual and landscape impact in the report, or the how dirty water and manure would be managed, as well as consider the impact of phosphates in the waste that would be transported by lorry to an anaerobic digester near Lydney, it was recommended the committee refuse the application.

Mr Jones said: “On the basis the environmental impact statement does not provide sufficient information, the local planning authority feels is needed to determine the application, it is recommended it is refused.”

Devauden Conservative councillor Rachel Buckler said she supported the refusal and said: “It is interesting the Woodland Trust felt so moved that it was inappropriate, that they took it to judicial review.”

Independent Socialist member for Dewstow Cllr Tony Easson asked what the next steps for applicant Gareth Adams would be.

Mr Jones said it would be “very much” at the discretion of Mr Adams, who can lodge an appeal with Planning and Environment Decisions Wales or submit a new application addressing the outstanding information, while he would also have the option of appealing the refusal while also making a new application.

The application was intended to boost capacity to 252,000 birds with the additional units intended to allow each chicken more room in line with higher welfare standards based on a lower density of birds.

When the committee approved the plans in October 2024 they were advised to do so despite environmental regulator Natural Resources Wales being concerned over the future management of waste and what it considered flaws in Welsh regulations.

It said those only focus on nitrogen and not phosphorous, that is also found in chicken manure.

At the time, planning officer Amy Longford said Natural Resources Wales, which provides statutory advice to the council, hadn’t objected, though its concerns were also shared by the council’s biodiversity officer.

Ms Longford told the 2024 meeting: “If the standards set by the Welsh Government currently are insufficient, it is for the standards to change and this is a matter for the Welsh Government.”

The report for this November’s planning committee stated that the application now required an Environmental Impact Assessment and “all likely significant impacts must be considered”, including phosphates.