Brecon & Radnor Branch of CPRW

The plight of the River Wye has been very much in the news, and on 13th January the (English) Environmental Audit Committee published an important report ‘WATER QUALITY IN RIVERS‘. There are clearly a number of pressures contributing to the deterioration of our rivers but the report summary contains the following statement about the Wye: ‘Intensive livestock and poultry farming is putting enormous pressure on particular catchments, such as the one feeding the River Wye. As many as twenty million chickens are being reared there and their waste may be raising the river’s phosphorus levels. Planning permission seems to be granted for individual units without any cumulative assessment being made of the overall impact of all the intensive farms in the area… New poultry farms should not be granted planning permission in catchments exceeding their nutrient budgets.‘

If you would like to add your voice to those expressing concern about local intensive pig and poultry applications, please see our POULTRY AND PLANNING GUIDE, which is intended as a quick guide to the environmental impacts of intensive pig and poultry developments and as a resource for use when responding to planning applications.

CPRW Brecon & Radnor has submitted online and written responses to the Powys Climate Change Strategy Consultation. We were very disappointed that the draft strategy document does not, in our view, address key issues or key potential actions. In particular, the draft fails to recognise that any measures to reduce climate change risks must operate alongside specific measures to reverse ecological damage and the degradation of the environment. It follows that the draft fails to address the critical role in the protection of our environment which the Powys planning system must play. We have made a number of recommendations which we trust will be considered in the next stage of development of the Strategy. Read the full responses here: written response, online response.