Villagers gather for super-dairy talks
FRUSTRATIONS were almost tangible when villagers at a meeting about plans for a giant dairy near their homes discovered their questions were not going to be answered.
More than 200 concerned villagers gathered on Monday to fire questions at the firm behind the plan for a factory dairy, the largest in Europe, to the south of South Witham.
But the company, Velmur Ltd, pulled out two hours before over concerns of “outside groups”, believed to be animal welfare groups.
South Witham Parish Council called the public meeting to discuss the proposals for a 2,896-cow “battery farm” just 300 metres away from the nearest home.
Peter Ball, of Wimberley Way in South Witham, arrived at the village hall armed with a sheet of 32 questions to askVelmur directors.
He said: “I feel cheated out of having my questions answered.”
Adrian Garratt, of Great Close, South Witham, added: “The environmental impact is my biggest issue. We can’t really undertand why they want this location, it’s totally horrendous. Velmur are cowards for not being here tonight.”
A planning application has not yet been submitted by the firm to South Kesteven District Council, although Velmur began consultations with the parish council last week.
Despite the firm’s no-show, parish council chairman Martin Wilkins showed slides the firm had put together as part of a presentation on the £20-£30 million scheme.
The slides talked about the use of anaerobic digesters to break down waste and large machines to pump slurry across fields within an 8km radius of the plant.
Villagers reacted with horror, fearing foul smells wafting across the village.
Another major concern was the close proximity of the plant to the village school.
Mr Wilkins told the villagers: “There will certainly be more air-borne diseases around which could affect asthma, and there’s going to be flies. The average herd size for a dairy farm is 125 - we are talking about 2,896 on this farm. That’s 23 dairy farms in one area.”
Other concerns raised included noise, water usage and emergency procedures.
Animal welfare activists were also at the meeting. One stood and said: “It’s quite a disgraceful way to keep animals. We all feel we don’t want this in our backyards, but animals, if we are going to keep them, should be kept humanely.”
In a statement, Velmur co-director Mike Walsh said the firm pulled out of the meeting as it would be “unproductive”.
He added: “Our initial meeting with South Witham Parish Council was informative and useful, and we look forward to working further with them to discuss in more details the concerns expressed by members of the parish council and village residents, who were also present. These comments will permit the company to take a view on the way forward.”
Villagers uninanimously voted against the plans.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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