HUNDREDS of objections have been received by planners since a poultry farm lodged a revised bid to expand the business to a quarter of a million birds near ancient and protected Wye Valley woodland.

Planning approval for two new broiler chicken rearing sheds at Coombe Farm, Llanfair Discoed near Shirenewton, was granted by Monmouthshire Council in 2024, but quashed by the High Court at the start of 2025, following legal action from the Woodland Trust.

The conservation body said it would increase ammonia and nitrogen levels, damaging the ecosystem and threatening the woodland.

Jack Taylor, WT’s Woods Under Threat lead, said at the time: "Coombe Valley Woods is an irreplaceable habitat designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

"This intervention on the additional poultry units at Coombe Farm is necessary to protect this and other precious local ancient woods.”

The farm has since submitted a revised application, saying sufficient environmental safeguards will be in place.

But some 400 objections have been received, including from the conservation body and the local parish council.

The trust says the extension of the poultry operation could cause “potential deterioration of a number of ancient woods designated on Natural Resources Wales’ Ancient Woodland Inventory”.

“The Trust is particularly concerned about impacts of ammonia and nitrogen deposition to several areas of ancient woodland, including an SSSI, immediately adjacent to the application site,” it says.

Levels of atmospheric ammonia and nitrogen blight habitats, it adds, where important biodiversity has developed through historically low levels, resulting in a deterioration of ecological integrity.

“This is leading to direct loss of species, but there is also a growing evidence base revealing wider impacts on ecosystem functioning and resilience,” says its report.

“This includes loss of soil fungi that trees depend upon, resulting in increased susceptibility to stress from climate and tree diseases.”

Agricultural and rural planning consultant Ian Pick has told planners on behalf of the applicant: “The scheme will adopt a higher welfare, lower stocking density standard across the entire farm, reducing the stocking density in existing sheds from 220,000 to 168,000 birds, while accommodating 42,000 birds in each of the two new sheds.

“The total capacity of the farm will therefore increase to 252,000 birds.”

The plan incorporates “environmental best practice technologies”, including air scrubbers “to reduce ammonia and particulate emissions and provide ecological betterment for nearby sensitive habitats”, he states.

But the trust say the applicant’s own modelling evidence “shows these woodlands are already exposed to ammonia and nitrogen at levels likely to be causing harm” from the existing poultry units.

And air quality expert Dr Michael Bull, in a report for the trust, challenges the claim that the extension of the business will improve air quality.

“The application… results in increased ammonia concentrations and N-deposition rates... and the local Ancient Woodland and some SSSIs are already above their Critical Load/Level”, he says.

Shirenewton Community Council have also objected, saying: there is “insufficient” detail about the receivers of the waste water and manure being transported off site, while extra lorry movements would impact local roads.

Details about the application DM/2025/01431 can be viewed on the Monmouthshire Council planning portal.