What is it like to live next to a Fridays Chicken Farm?
Neighbours of existing Fridays farms have some strong views on what it’s like to live there -
“The traffic is constant, mainly HGVs…”
“Promises made are not normally adhered to…"
“…It can be smelly at times, depending on the wind direction, especially when they’re clearing the sheds…”
“…I gave up counting the dead flies when I’d killed 300 in my kitchen."
And what does living next to a chicken farm do to property values?
Which? News' 18 Things That Can Hurt Your House Price includes -
"Environmental Pollution"
"Noise Pollution"
"Increased Traffic"
And Right Move’s Hidden Issues That Affect House Prices says -
"A planned development could significantly change the character and tone of the area, making it far less attractive to buyers and, therefore, decreasing house prices.”
But if it isn’t a chicken farm, could it be housing?
We asked a planning consultant to give a view on the whether this could happen and they said -
"As a qualified planner given the sites isolated location away from shops and services this would not be considered a sustainable location. There are far better sites around Marden, Staplehurst and Headcorn, Coxheath etc.
The site falls within Flood Zone 3b which categorises Residential use as Highly Vulnerable and should not be supported by the planning authority.”
Having understood that it will be very difficult for anyone to get approval for housing, we understand it is likely that Fridays will seek permission for a permanent dwelling to replace the current mobile home already installed at the site entrance. As we know that location is well within the flood plain.
So what have we been doing to get ready to oppose the planning application when it arrives?
Remember once it's submitted, we’ll have a limited amount of time to respond so we need to be ready -
Continued to work on our draft response to the planning application.
Contacted our MP, Helen Grant, to make her aware of what’s proposed.
Continued to engage with our Borough Councillors and neighbouring Parish Councils.
Contacted more local and national, environment and countryside charities and organisations.
Added to the local campaign signage.
And spoken to Fridays’ neighbours at other sites (as you can see!).
What next?
We’ve been getting quotes from independent specialists who can write reports commenting on the planning application, much as the residents in Horsmonden did. When we know how much money we’ll need, we aim to set up a crowdfunding page to allow Chainhurst residents to contribute to a fighting fund - at this stage it looks like several thousand pounds will be needed, but more news on this when we have it.
