Sustainable food campaigners have called out meat producer Cranswick's plans to build a 'US-style megafarm' in Norfolk as 'madness'.
Campaigning groups Feedback and Sustain have called on the Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk to reject the proposal.
In the summer, Cranswick Plc, one of the UK’s largest meat producers, submitted proposals to expand an existing site at Methwold and Feltwell to house 870,000 chickens and 14,000 pigs.
Cranswick said it would be a ‘sustainable, modern farm’ and would help create jobs and boost the local economy.
But campaigners have today warned the council that it was 'breaking the law' by leaving greenhouse gas emissions out of the scope of the planning application.
They also said that local and national climate change commitments would be 'jeopardised' if the farm's extension went ahead.
There is also local resistance to the Methwold farm: to date, the council has received 10,000 letters objecting to the proposal.
Natasha Hurley, director of campaigns at Feedback, said the meat producer's plans was 'madness'.
She said: "This megafarm must be stopped, and we believe the law is on our side.
"We urge West Norfolk Borough Council in the strongest possible terms to reject this planning application.”
Ruth Westcott, campaign manager at Sustain, added that 'industrial megafarms' were 'completely unnecessary'.
"As well as the unacceptable impact on the climate, family farmers say these kind of supply chains impose prices, trading terms, and insecurity that they can’t survive."
The council is currently conducting a 30-day public consultation following the publication of an environmental statement by Cranswick on 31 October.
This will be followed by a review, with the council expected to issue a decision on the planning application in early 2025.
