Chicken droppings gas plant proposal to be decided

An application to build a biogas plant fuelled by chicken droppings will be decided next week.

If approved, the site on the outskirts of Anwick, near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, would process 120,000 tonnes of faeces and feedstock waste to produce gas pumped into the National Grid.

An action group that has previously said it would "kill the village" has set up a petition signed by more than 600 people, but developer Stream Bioenergy said the project would be "a state-of-the-art development with a robust multi-stage odour control system".

The plans went before Lincolnshire County Council's planning committee in May, but they were withdrawn before a final decision was made.

The proposed plant would include eight digester tanks which are 25m (82ft) tall, as well as a processing building, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Villagers fear if the plans were to go ahead it would lead to bad smells and heavy traffic in the area.

In May, Stream Bioenergy said: "We and the Lincolnshire County Council planning department agreed to defer this application from the May planning committee agenda to allow us appropriate time to fully review the planning officer's report before presenting at a future planning committee.

"We remain fully committed to this development, which represents a £115m investment that will support the important agri-food sector in Lincolnshire."

The report by council officers said the size of the development would lead to "the industrialisation of the countryside with significant adverse harm to the landscape character".

The application will be determined at a meeting on 7 September.

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