Friends of Fishwick and St Matthews object to plans to extend chicken factory hours of operation

Gafoor halal in Fletcher Road — Gafoor Pure Halal in Fletcher Road

The Friends of Fishwick and St Matthews have lodged an objection to the removal of out of hours working restrictions at Gafoor Pure Halal in Deepdale.

The condition – which was listed in the 2001 appeal decision to grant planning permission for the Fletcher Road factory – states: “No machinery shall be operated, no process shall be carried out and no deliveries taken or dispatched from the site outside the hours of 0700 hours to 2100 hours on Monday to Saturday nor at any time on Sundays, Bank or Public Holidays.”

A letter to Preston City Council Planning Department from agent Equilibrium Architects says the removal is needed due to changes in animal welfare guidelines and industry requirements, plus the impact of Covid-19.

It states: “The applicant is of the considered view that Condition No 3 is no longer applicable to the lawful use of the building, given the changes to the way poultry is now reared for processing and especially where Covid has meant that there has been a need for work practices, in both the slaughter and the processing of chickens, to change.

“There are also proposed changes regarding the relevant legislation in connection with animal welfare, which means that the supply, transportation, slaughter and processing of chickens is now a 7 day a week industry which is also required to meet the needs of consumers and where there is a growing requirement for work to take place on Sundays and Bank / Public Holidays.”

Formed in 2011 to deliver environmental improvements in the area, the Friends of Fishwick and St Matthews are a statutory consultee on planning applications due to their Inner East Preston Neighbourhood plan adopted by referendum in 2015.

The objection from the group reads: “As statutory consulates we wish to object to the removal of the operating conditions.

“The residents nearby have suffered greatly over the years with heavy goods vehicles coming and going and also waiting near the factory.

“While the factory have always denied that the smell that pervades the area is not them, everyone believes otherwise and any risk to worsening this should not be taken.

“This is the most densely populated built-up area in the city with the highest levels of deprivation and should not be subject to such heavy industry 24/7.”

The planning application (06/2021/1438) can be viewed on the Preston City Council website.

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What do you think about the possible change to operating conditions at Gafoor? Let us know in the comments.