A CONTROVERSIAL planning application to build a chicken farm near Newtown was rejected, but only after a narrow vote.

The application came back in front of the Powys County Council  (PCC) planning committee 18 months after the previous application had been rejected on ecological and highways issues.

The application by farmer, Gareth Woosnam, had been re-submitted and came in front of PCC’s planning committee on Thursday, May 23.

The farm had been owned by the Woosnam’s since in 1937 and had been a dairy farm at one point.

Mr Woosnam’s son, Geraint, spoke at the meeting.

He stressed the need for the farm to diversify so that he and his brother Aled , could farm there, as well as future generations of the family,

In the planning report, highways officers believed the danger to drivers is “too high” to allow the development to go ahead.

They said that the junction of the C2011/U2620 is severely substandard in terms of visibility in both directions.

A major obstacle to mitigation that the applicants’ suggestions for road improvement is that they don’t control the land that would allow this to happen.

Some councillors believed that a way could be found around this.

Cllr Iain McIntosh asked if the: “apex of the bend could be deleted?”

He was told by highways officers that it was possible to “shave the corner off” but the landowners were unwilling to sell.

Cllr Phil Pritchard (Independent – Welshpool), who has held a HGV and bus driving licence for more than 40 years, said: “99 time out of 100 I would agree with highways

“We always look at theses situations as if we’re flat on our bellies on the floor and all you can do is see a hedge.

“We are talking here about lorries that are going to be 20-foot in the air, we’re not talking about little tiny cars like we had in the 1960s.

“Anybody coming around there would see the vehicle and the hazard.”

He pointed out that statutory consultees were not against the application.

Cllr Pritchard added: “We’re talking about the livelihoods of two young farmers who want to carry on their business, or they could go out of existence. It’s a no-brainer to me.”

Cllr Heulwen Hulme (Independent – Rhiwcynon) said that she travelled the road daily, and said you could see lorries turning.

“Since the (Newtown) bypass opened, people are using this road less, ” said Cllr Hulme.

Cllr David Selby (Liberal Democrat – Newtown Central) said: ” I drive this road but I’m not pretending to be an expert on what we should do with junctions.

“What we have in front of us is that the corner and junction could be very dangerous. It would be wrong decision for us to ignore that advice.”

Committee solicitor, Colin Edwards, added: “If members were to approve this in the face of opposition from both out highways and planning department, I could not rule out the possibility of action against the authority if, as a result of passing this, there is an accident there in the future.

“There have been cases in the past where authorities have been found liable for reckless decisions.”

The application was rejected by eight votes to six with one abstention.