Powys: Welshpool council fears over sausage factory plans

At a meeting of Welshpool Town Council’s planning committee on Wednesday, February 15, councillors discussed an application for an extension to Welshpool Sausage Factory on Foundry Lane.

According to the proposal, the extension will replace an existing lean-to and free-standing building to form a more efficient chiller for the business.

The application states: “Having a more efficient storage building which will coordinate with the existing freezer and chiller, will undoubtedly improve the workings of the business, and its appearance.”

When discussing the proposal, members of the council’s planning committee expressed support for the application, but some councillors noted complaints they had received from residents in the area.

Cllr Dave France said: “I have heard a few complaints from people located near to the factory regarding noise and disturbed sleep. Seeing this proposal, I fear this may add more noise pollution to the area than what is already being experienced.

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“Having looked at the forms associated with this proposal, I do not see the noise pollution aspect having been taken seriously.

"It seems to breeze through it and argue there isn’t any, which may end up not being true.”

Cllr Nick Howells added that he felt an environmental impact assessment should be included in the proposal, in which an environmental officer has the authority to decide whether any noise constitutes a nuisance to residents or not.

The factory in Foundry Lane (Image: Google)

Cllr Billy Spencer added: “What I think we shouldn’t do is act as environmental officers ourselves. It’s not to do with noise pollution, it’s about planning. We approved applications that have added noise before, and I don’t think we would pick and choose what we can and can’t support.

“If the rules for planning applications have been appropriately followed, then we should rightly grant support and leave matters such as noise pollution to the proper authorities.”

Cllr France responded by saying: “In terms of what are we here for and what are we consulted on. We are here to represent people of the town and we have had residents complain about noise, specifically from that factory, so we should in some way respond to the complaints raised by residents we represent.”

The committee ultimately voted in favour of approving the application but mention their reservations regarding the potential issue surrounding noise pollution.