Report for Item 6 - Swale Borough Council

2.6 (Contd) PART 2
Weighing up the positive economic impacts of this proposal and the potential impact
on the landscape, I am of the opinion that, on balance, the poultry building, mobile
home and silos would be acceptable. I do not consider that the objectives of policy
E9 – Area of High Landscape Value would be compromised by this proposal.
Impact on Conservation Area
The Newington Church Conservation Area lies 220m to the south of the application
site. There is the potential for the proposed poultry building, due to its size and
location, to have an impact on the setting of the conservation area. The test that
should be applied when assessing the acceptability of such an impact is whether the
proposal would preserve or enhance the character and appearance of the
conservation area. Much of this assessment is bound up in the discussion above
which identifies the way in which the proposed development would impact on the
setting of Newington village and its important landmark feature, the church. I am of
the view that in consideration of the above, the proposed development would
continue to preserve the setting of the conservation area and due to the distance
between the application site and the edge of the conservation area, would have a
very limited impact.
Impact on local residents
Local residents have expressed serious concerns about the impact of the proposal
on them in terms of noise, smells and disturbance. This is from the business itself as
well as from the traffic that would be generated by the business. Members should
note however, that this is an agricultural site. Many forms of agricultural
development can produce a large amount of traffic, usually in the form of lorries or
large vehicles, as well as noise and smells. A traditional dairy farm for example, can
produce strong smells and a fruit farm can attract a large number of vehicles to it.
The proposed poultry enterprise should be viewed no differently in my opinion.
Nonetheless, I am of the view that the matter of smell from the poultry building can
be adequately controlled under Environmental Health legislation and should not be
used as a reason for refusal in this case. Any noise from the chickens themselves
would be minimal in my view. The Bungalow is the closest neighbouring property
and would be 175m from the poultry building. I consider that at this distance, the
chickens would not be audible.
The traffic issues relating to highway safety will be addressed below. However, the
number and type of vehicles generated by this development is of concern to local
residents. The residential use of the mobile home would obviously produce some
traffic but this would be at a low level and would therefore have a limited impact on
local residents. The most impact would potentially be caused by passing HGVs or
smaller lorries in association with the poultry building. As I have concluded above,
the siting of a poultry building in this location would be acceptable in principle. It is
therefore reasonable to expect that there would be some traffic generated as a
consequence. Indeed, the access to this agricultural land would have, in the past,
seen a certain amount of use in association with the existing agricultural activity at
the site.
Continued . . .
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