Not everyone thinks it’s an eggcellent idea
West Lindsey district councillors are set to approve a chicken farmer’s plans for an egg farm in Laughterton this week.
P A Arden & Son submitted plans back in November 2020 for a free range poultry unit to be built to house 32,000 hens on 16 hectares of land at Naylors Hills off Newark Road.
Plans were delayed in February 2021 after more than 40 objections were received and a PETA petition to stop plans was signed more than 13,000 times.
The unit is set to be 27m in width and 111m in length with a maximum height of 7.35m. 1,000 trees, including oak, are also proposed to be planted.
In 2019, a new agricultural access road was approved in preparation for the egg farm.
Council documents said Mr Arden’s application will allow his business to diversify “in order to address strong market demand for premium quality free range woodland eggs.”
“This will allow the business to remain economically viable and competitive,” they said.
“The development will also offer the collateral benefit of creating new jobs, thereby strengthening the local rural economy.”
The poultry unit would be built on land off Newark Road if given the go ahead. | Photo: Google Streetview
It said the proposal would not have an effect on the air quality or highways.
However, objectors say the proposals will cause smells and increase traffic, noise and pollution, ruining the character of the area.
Geoffrey Cleworth said: “I am shocked that an application to house so many chickens close to a pleasant residential village has been submitted.
“In addition to the smells that this will generate, there will be much greater commercial vehicle traffic through the village on a road which already has significant usage from HGVs going to and from the Humber ports.”
Aerial photo with layout plan depicting the proposed unit with surrounding landscape.
The PETA petition was based on animal welfare concerns. It said: “Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the last thing the UK needs is another animal farm.
“The proposed facility would likely be a breeding ground for bird flu and could pose an immense risk to public health.
“If plans for this farm go ahead, they’ll be forced to spend their unnaturally short lives crammed into a barren shed, made to lay eggs in appalling conditions, day after day, as the intense strain on their bodies likely causes them to suffer from osteoporosis and sustain broken bones.”
However, there have also been letters of support for the farm: “We need to support British farming and recognise more job opportunities that this will create, even more so now because of the current climate,” said Mark Johnson.
A decision will be made by councillors in West Lindsey’s Planning Committee on March 31.
A dramatic video shows a car engulfed in flames in the car park at Lincoln County Hospital on Tuesday afternoon.
An on-call crew from Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue attended the scene on Greetwell Road shortly before 5pm on Tuesday, April 13.
The crew used one hose reel to extinguish the fire and fortunately no casualties were reported.
The car is probably a write-off. | Photo: The Lincolnite
Dramatic pictures from the scene show the severe damage that was caused to the front of the car.
Fall in county infections but a Boston spike
There have been 50 new coronavirus cases and three COVID-related deaths in Greater Lincolnshire on Tuesday — compared to 58 cases and no deaths this time last week.
The government’s COVID-19 dashboard recorded 26 new cases in Lincolnshire, 19 in North Lincolnshire and five in North East Lincolnshire.
On Tuesday, three deaths were registered in Lincolnshire, none in North East Lincolnshire and -1 in North Lincolnshire. Fluctuations in data are usually due to some deaths in those areas being reallocated to other regions across the UK or a miscount. These figures include deaths both in and out of hospitals, as well as residents in hospitals outside the county.
NHS England has reported two new local hospital deaths at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust hospitals.
On Tuesday, national cases increased by 2,472 to 4,375,814, while deaths rose by 23 to 127,123.
In local news, people aged over 45 can now book their COVID vaccinations on the NHS website after the government reached its target of offering a first dose to the nine most vulnerable groups.
There were recently some technical difficulties for people accessing the NHS website, but vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said the issues have been fixed – book a vaccine online here and find out if you are eligible.
Over the weekend, Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rate has fallen, with a spike in Boston only.
Similarly, the England average has also seen a drop in infections, but still remains nearly half Greater Lincolnshire’s rates.
Lincoln has dropped by more than half over the weekend and now has one of the smallest rates in the UK, with just 9.1 per 100,000 of the population infected with COVID-19.
Here’s Greater Lincolnshire’s COVID-19 infection rates up to April 12:
Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rates from Apr 5 to Apr 12. | Data: Gov UK / Table: James Mayer for The Lincolnite
In national news, Boris Johnson has warned that the reduction in coronavirus infections, hospitalisations and deaths “has not been achieved” by the rollout of COVID vaccines.
The prime minister, speaking the day after the latest easing of lockdown restrictions, instead said it was the national shutdown that had been “overwhelmingly important” in driving down COVID rates.
England is giving out its first doses of the Moderna jab, the third COVID-19 vaccine in the nation’s rollout.
It will be available at 21 sites, included the Madejski Stadium in Reading and the Sheffield Arena.
Along with the Pfizer jab, it offers an alternative to the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for under-30s, after concerns about a possible link to very rare blood clots.
Greater Lincolnshire includes Lincolnshire and the unitary authorities of North and North East (Northern) Lincolnshire.
58,772 cases (up 50)
2,184 deaths (up three)
of which 1,302 hospital deaths (up two)
4,375,814 UK cases, 127,123 deaths
There will be another Kill The Bill protest in Lincoln next week, rallying against a new government bill that diminishes protesting rights.
Protests have been rife across the country since the government’s proposed Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill was first discussed, with scenes turning violent in Bristol.
Over two hundred people peacefully took part in the city’s first march at Speakers’ Corner on April 3, including Extinction Rebellion activists and Socialist and Labour supporters.
| Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Now, after a post started doing the rounds on social media, another protest has apparently been scheduled for 2pm on Monday, April 17 at the same location on Lincoln High Street, as part of a national day of action.
A poster promoting a second event has been shared across social media platforms.
Protests are lawful once again after the government eased lockdown restrictions on March 29, but organisers are required to submit a risk assessment prior to any event.
| Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Organisers of the last protest were in close communication with police to make the event safe, and The Lincolnite has asked Lincolnshire Police if they have been made aware of another protest, but are yet to receive a reply.
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