Midlands Pig Producers, the company behind proposals for an acutely controversial mega-farm in Foston, South Derbyshire, received a severe blow earlier this week, when South Derbyshire District Council elected to object to MPP’s proposals. The news came just a week after the Environment Agency withdrew its formal objection made in May, one of the most significant obstacles for the planned mega-farm.

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It has been revealed that South Derbyshire District Council’s Planning Committee objected to the plans on the basis that they consider the unit, which would house 25,000 pigs whose waste would be converted into biofertiliser by an anaerobic digester to be an agricultural industrial development in the open countryside.

The final decision on whether the project will be given permission is now expected in the new year from Derbyshire County Council. The precise reasons for the district council’s objection to the plans are currently being drafted into a formal statement which will then be sent to the county council.

South Derbyshire District Council's Planning Committee unanimously voted in favour of raising an objection in principle to proposals on Tuesday evening. Their concerns also covered increased traffic to and from the site, noise, smell and potential health risks. A letter from the Health Protection Agency to Derbyshire County Council outlined similar concerns.

A South Derbyshire District Council spokesperson said the proposed unit would run "contrary to strategic planning policy, as it is an agricultural industrial development in the open countryside."

A Midlands Pig Producers spokesperson commented, "We have been informed that South Derbyshire District Council is not supporting our proposals for a pig farm at Foston. Disappointingly, in making their decision, members of the planning committee decided to ignore the recommendation of the professional planning officers. The report considered by the planning committee recommended no objection."

However, Peter Melchett, Soil Association Policy Director, welcomed the news. The Soil Association have joined the national campaign against the proposals, which it claims would take farming in Britain in the wrong direction and could have adverse effects on welfare and animal and human health. Melchett said, "We are pleased that South Derbyshire District Council have listened to concerns about the risks to health this proposal poses, which have been put forward by large numbers of local residents and the Government's independent advisory body on health issues."