THOUSANDS of people have voiced their concerns about plans to build a huge poultry farm in North Yorkshire.

Councillors are being recommended to refuse the application for six poultry sheds on 15,800 square metres of land in Rufforth, near York.

They would house 288,000 chickens and include ancillary buildings and a road network. The plans were met with a wave of objections and some 7,732 letters have been received by City of York Council.

A further 6,764 people signed a petition orchestrated by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals against the farm - and only two letters of support have been sent to the authority.

The concerns outlined by residents include animal welfare, traffic, the lack of positive benefits, the impact of pollution on human health, and the impact of the smell, noise and light pollution on residents living nearby.

Planning officer Erik Matthews highlighted a number of issues including including noise, odour and light pollution in his report.

He recommended the plan be rejected because “its scale, dense pattern of landscaping and close physical relationship to a principal run-way of Rufforth Airfield would give rise to significant harm to the safety of aircraft and associated gliders taking off and landing.”

He said the buildings prominent scale and location would cause significant adverse harm to the visual amenity of the area.