South Derbyshire District Council councillorsMartyn FordBOSSES behind controversial pig farm plans have been told to withdraw their submission by a South Derbyshire councillor after another delay.
Councillor Martyn Ford, planning committee chairman for South Derbyshire District Council, but who also heads up the regulatory planning control committee on Derbyshire County Council, has called for the Foston Pig Farm plans to be temporarily withdrawn.
The county council has told applicants, Midland Pig Producers (MPP), that it should resubmit the proposal to build the pig farm which would house more than 25,000 pigs on a 70 acre site, to give the public the opportunity to ‘express their view on the scheme including the totality of changes and additional information.’
This is in response to a request from MPP for an extension until April 30 to submit further information. Although the council’s environmental services agreed to the extension, Councillor Ford expressed his disappointment that there is going to be a further delay.
He said: “Before Christmas MPP came to us with a request for a delay and then came back at the end of January asking for another three months to request information from the environment agency. So Rob Murfin, head of planning at Derbyshire County Council, and I made the decision to ask them to withdraw their plans and submit a complete application when they have gathered all the information.
“We have written to express our disappointment that there is another delay.”
A petition against the pig factory has been signed by 27,000 people.
A spokesman for Midland Pig Producers said: “We too feel that this application has been outstanding for too long, which is a result of requests from various authorities for further information. We would be pleased to see a speedy conclusion and fully anticipate that we will be able to meet the April 30 deadline.”
