This is a subscriber-only article
The planning process for a pig unit near Limavady is set to close to consultation responses next week, almost four years after the original application was submitted.
The plans for the proposed development were submitted by local arable farmer Tommy Simpson in December 2014, and include four breeding pig units to house 2,247 sows.
A separate planning application for a single pig breeding unit on the same site off the Moys Road was passed in 2013, and construction work is currently ongoing.
Proposed
Devenish Nutrition and the Karro Food Group are involved in the plans for the proposed unit on Simpson’s farm. However, the application has been met with opposition from environmental and animal welfare campaigners.
On Saturday evening, campaigners launched a film entitled “Pig Business in Northern Ireland” at an event in Limavady to highlight their concerns with development of large-scale pig units.
The film also focuses on a separate unit at Calhame Road near Ballyclare, which is owned by Jim and Mark Wright of JMW Farms Ltd. The unit is currently in the planning system and is also due to close to consultation responses next week.
Sow unit
The application was submitted in February 2018 and involves demolishing an existing 4,200 pig finishing unit and replacing it with a 2,755-sow unit.
The 33-minute long film is made up of clips from interviews with local residents, campaigners and politicians, and was produced by Londonbased organisation Farms Not Factories.
Several interviewees in the film take issue with the environmental impact of the “Going for Growth” strategy produced by industry and government in 2013, and the absence of an appeal procedure against planning decisions made by local councils in NI.
SHARING OPTIONS: