In a meeting on Tuesday, South Derbyshire District Councillors upheld their previous objections to plans for a 25,000 pig farm in the village of Foston. 

The sustained objections are a major setback for Midlands Pig Producers, which hopes to build a large pig unit near Foston Prison. The district council has consistently opposed MPP's planning proposals, arguing they are out of keeping with the area.

Local residents have also fiercely objected to the plans, but MPP remains determined to see its project realised and the planning process has dragged on since 2009. Midlands Pig Producers was granted an extension to the deadline initially set by the Council for further supporting information earlier this year. The company submitted its amendments in May.

The plans have been called in by Derbyshire County Council, which is expected to deliver a verdict on the controversial project over the summer. MPP said it was aware that the District Council had rejected its amendments, but stressed that the final decision on the project lies with Derbyshire County Council. 

Commenting on the District Council's objection, Soil Association Policy Director Peter Melchett said, "Almost four years on from the original planning proposal, local residents are still living with uncertainty. Recently, new evidence for negative impacts on human health from large scale livestock systems has been published, with the chief medical officer acknowledging the problems of antibiotic resistance in humans and linking this to intensive livestock farming. The growing problem was raised at the recent G8 meeting."

He continued, "We support diverse, human scale farming which enhances the beauty of our countryside and sustains rural communities, cares for the health and welfare of our farm animals, provides meaningful work for people, and a flexible, resilient food supply that we can depend on into the future."

"The solution is not to create huge-scale intensive operations that threaten our landscape, farming and rural communities. Large-scale industrial farms may be able to produce food a little more cheaply in the short term, mostly through reducing the number and cost of people employed, as automation diminishes the need for husbandry skills. But we will end up paying a high price for what may be marginally cheaper food," Melchett warned.