Latest news with #EnvironmentalPermittingRegulations
Powys County Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Powys County Times
Powys poultry farms seek to add 185,100 more birds to sites
Three existing poultry farms are looking to expand so they can rear an extra 185,100 birds in Powys. Llanshay Farm, Knighton, Neuadd Isaf Farm near Llandrindod Wells, and Rhosddu Farm, Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain have applied for environmental permits from Natural Resources Wales. Llanshay Farm, the largest of the three, is proposing to increase the number of bird they keep from 110,000 to 200,000, and build two new poultry sheds. Penybont's Neuadd Isaf Poultry Farm is looking to add another 87,100 birds and two new sheds to its current 170,900 site. Meanwhile, Rhosddu Farm in north Powys, wants to build a 24,000 multi-tier aviary for the extra 8,000 birds it wants to rear. The proposed permits contain conditions and limits to protect human health and the environment, and ensure best available techniques are followed by the farmers. Natural Resources Wales (NRW) says it is minded to grant the changes to the three farm permits after assessing the applications but has launched a public consultation to gather the views of the surrounding communities. RECOMMENDED READING Nick Bettinson, NRW's Permitting Service Manager, said: 'We understand there is likely to be public interest in these applications, so we want to give the public and interested parties an opportunity to comment on our draft decisions. 'Having carefully assessed these three applications, we are minded to grant the variations and are now inviting local residents, community groups, stakeholders and businesses to take part in the consultations and have their say. 'We want to reassure the public that we only grant a permit variation if the proposal meets the requirements of the Environmental Permitting Regulations, and the operator has the ability to meet the conditions of the permit.' Operators of poultry farms with more than 40,000 birds need both a permit from NRW and planning permission from the local authority to operate - both of which are applied for and issued independently. Where a poultry farm is subject to both Environmental Permitting Regulations and planning consent, it is the Local Planning Authority's remit to consider the implications of off-site manure management. The permitting process can only consider emissions from permitted sites for which NRW has the power to regulate. NRW cannot legally regulate manures from permitted sites through permit conditions, once it has left the permitted boundary.
Western Telegraph
22-04-2025
- Health
- Western Telegraph
Withyhedge incident management team stood down as 'situation improves'
An Incident Management Team (IMT), comprising of Natural Resources Wales, Pembrokeshire County Council, Public Health Wales and Hywel Dda University Health Board was set up in February 2024 in response to complaints going back to October 2023 about the odour issues at Withyhedge Landfill. The landfill closed temporarily in May last year, reopening on January 6 when all compliance required by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) was said to be complete. An update from NRW this week said that the IMT has now been stood down as there are 'far fewer reports of odours' and pollution levels remain below the limits set by the World Health Organisation (WHO). This combination of factors shows that the 'situation has moved beyond incident response' says NRW. A dedicated system set up to report odour and gas from the Withyhedge site has also been decommissioned. However, residents can still report via NRW's online incident form or by calling 0300 065 3000. Independent air quality monitoring in the area will continue for the next year, funded by landfill operator RML. Pembrokeshire County Council (PCC) said that it will verify the results to ensure transparency. The static monitor at Spittal School will also remain until April 2026, with weekly results being provided to PCC and data collected compared with WHO guidelines. However Public Health Wales (PHW) will no longer review this data on a regular basis. PHW says that the data from Spittal School between January 26 and March 30 showed 13 occasions when hydrogen sulphide concentrations in the air were above the WHO odour annoyance guideline value. However, all 13 occasions were on the same day and there had been no exceedances for the seven weeks to the end of March. Other air monitoring in the area has not recorded any occasions when hydrogen sulphide concentrations in the air were above the WHO odour level. Air monitoring undertaken using diffusion tubes has also not identified levels of hydrogen sulphide above longer-term guideline which is based on lifetime exposure. 'We are reassured that the air monitoring data has not shown evidence of an ongoing, long-term risk to the health of the community,' said PHW. 'As a result of this evidence, coupled with the significantly lower number of complaints received by partners, PHW will no longer review the data on a regular basis.' NWR has said that it will continue to monitor the landfill site with unannounced inspections to assess compliance against the Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR) Permit. Its investigation into issues identified at the peak of the odour incident continues. RML has also applied for a variation to their permit. NRW said that a public consultation will take place as part of this. All members of the former incident management team have said that they will monitor communications they receive regarding Withyhedge Landfill and share between organisations if appropriate.
