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Deadline for responses to Fridays Chainhurst chicken farm application slammed as 'unfair'

Opponents of plans to create a huge chicken farm at Chainhurst near Marden have labelled the borough council's timetable for objections as "grossly unfair."

The application from Cranbrook-based egg company Fridays was validated by Maidstone council and made public on Friday, December 4 with the public given until January 16 to submit their comments.

Anthony Drewe with Adelle and Kevin Back
Anthony Drewe with Adelle and Kevin Back

The proposal is for three large chicken sheds to contain 192,000 birds on a 237-acre site - and the application has 850-pages of information to absorb.

Anthony Drewe, one of the local residents opposing the scheme, said: "Residents have only 25 working days to answer an 850-page application!

"The timescale is blatantly unfair, unreasonable and unjustifiable."

He said: "We are in a Tier 3 Covid situation, so we cannot hold public meetings, and what's more we have the Christmas and New Year holidays in between.

"People who apply to build garages here have had a 28-day consulting period, and yet Fridays are proposing a huge, industrial-size development and we are being given a totally unreasonable deadline to object."

A similar chicken shed to the three proposed
A similar chicken shed to the three proposed

Councils must determine all planning applications within a set time frame - unless the applicant agrees to a delay.

The determination date for the Fridays' application is March 26.

Mr Drewe said: "That still leaves another two months in which opponents could put their case together."

Another resident, Kevin Back, said: "This is a ludicrous state of affairs. It looks like a complete stitch-up!

"This is a massive, factory development which will decimate the area and change it forever."

Protestors say they do not have enough time to say No
Protestors say they do not have enough time to say No

"The impact on noise, our roads, smells and heavy lorries will impact the quality of the whole community."

The campaigners have written to the planning officer designated to handle to the case to object to the timeframe and to ask for an extension.

Details of the application can be seen on the Maidstone council webiste under application reference: 20/505751.

To date, only two applications have been lodged.

Fridays says the proposal will cause less environmental damage than the land's existing agricultural use, with the sheds designed to use the topography of the site to blend in.

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