ENVIRONMENTAL group River Action announced today that it is taking legal action against Shropshire Council over its decision to give planning permission for a large poultry unit. 

The unit is due to house 230,000 birds, just 400 metres from another site which houses nearly half a million. 

The challenge aims to halt the spread of industrial-scale chicken farming in the River Severn catchment. 

It was filed on the grounds that there had been a failure to assess the effects of spreading manure and emissions from burning biomass, and failure to impose regulations that would ensure against groundwater pollution. 

River Action argues that the Wye area has already been devastated by the failure to enforce anti-pollution regulations and is determined to prevent similar damage.

The claimant, Dr Alison Caffyn, a member of River Action’s advisory board, said: “There are already well over 20 million chickens in Shropshire, we don’t need more. 

“Before we know it, the River Severn will soon be suffering the same pollution load as the neighbouring Wye — all because of these misguided and ill-informed planning decisions by Shropshire Council.”