DC Casebook: In depth - Slaughterhouse extension ruled out on basis of harm to green belt

Planning, 11 July 2008

The slaughterhouse was a farm-based business in its early days but had developed into an industrial-scale use serving a range of other farms in the region. The inspector found that the proposal would deliver a substantial improvement in living conditions for residents through the strict control of odours. It would also reduce the number of heavy goods vehicles passing through a village and minimise traffic generation from the site, he noted.

Against this, he held that more than doubling the size of the building would significantly decrease the openness of the green belt. He considered that the extended building would have an adverse visual impact on the character and appearance of the countryside and on the setting of the village and its listed buildings.

The inspector recognised that the building had to be modernised to remain in use as a slaughterhouse. However, he considered that the proposal was a somewhat naive approach to meeting the requirements of food hygiene and animal welfare regulations by vastly enlarging the building without reference to its green belt location. He held that the need for regulatory compliance was a normal requirement of the business and could not be seen as sufficiently special to justify such an approach.

The inspector recognised that failure to modernise could lead to closure and the loss of jobs. However, he heard no evidence to convince him that the building could not meet regulations without a major extension. He agreed that a loss of capacity might affect viability but held that closure, refurbishment or relocation was a business decision for the owners and operators.

DCS Number 100-055-801

Inspector Colin Ball; Inquiry.