Salmon farm approved after legal challenge
A £120m onshore salmon farm has been granted planning approval, despite a legal challenge by an animal rights group.
A judicial review was held in February after Animal Equality UK challenged the proposed Cleethorpes farm on the basis of animal welfare concerns.
Deputy High Court Judge Karen Ridge upheld the council's decision to allow the salmon farm but ruled that animal welfare concerns could be a key planning consideration in future cases.
Following the review, the leader of North East Lincolnshire Council (NELC), Philip Jackson, said he "looked forward to seeing this development progress".
The salmon farm, located at New Clee and put forward by Aquacultured Seafood LTD, will span a 10-acre (40,000-sq-m) site and process 5,000 tonnes a year.
It will also create over 300 jobs, 100 of which would be permanent, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Councillors voted seven to four in favour of planning approval in November 2023.
Construction was put on hold due to the judicial review which was granted in September and took place at Leeds Combined Court Centre.
Barrister Alex Shattock, who represented the animal rights group in court, said it was the first reported case to consider the significance of animal welfare concerns in planning decisions.
Mark Berthet, Aquacultured's director, said the fishing industry had "long been a source of employment for North East Lincolnshire residents".
"Providing not only income, but a sense of pride and community, and we intend to ensure that it continues," he said.
NELC's leader, Jackson, said the farm would offer a "great opportunity in innovative methods of sustainable salmon farming" along with creating "economic investment and employment".
Animal Equality UK's executive director, Abigail Penny, said the group had worked on stopping the fish farm's development for two years.
"We have absolutely no intention of backing down now.
"This is nothing but a corporate land grab and we won't stand for it.
"We will fight until the bitter end," she said.
Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
Salmon farm judicial review 'bad news' for area
Campaigners vow to fight salmon farm plan
Salmon farm plans approved despite objections
Salmon farm plan facing animal rights challenge
North East Lincolnshire Council
Animal Equality UK
Aquacultured Seafood LTD
Local Democracy Reporting Service
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Yahoo
Former owner of well-known venue admits VAT fraud
The ex-owner of a restaurant, bar and wedding venue has pleaded guilty to evading VAT and deliberately defrauding HM Revenue and Customs. Jack McDaid, 67, who previously ran Casa Brighouse in West Yorkshire under the company Casa Events, was due to stand trial at Leeds Crown Court along with business partner Samuel Revy-Holmes, 35, and accountant Robert Brook, 47, but changed his plea on Tuesday before the start of a trial. His Honour Judge Simon Phillips KC told McDaid he would be sentenced at the end of the trial, which was expected to last about two weeks. Mr Revy-Holmes and Mr Brook have both denied conspiracy to evade VAT and cheating the public revenue and their trial began on Tuesday. McDaid, Mr Revy-Holmes and Mr Brook have all been granted conditional bail. At the start of the trial, jurors at Leeds Crown Court heard the business's turnover had been almost £10m during the period when the alleged offences took place between October 2011 and June 2018. However, from November 2013 until May 2018, a total of 19 VAT returns were submitted which all showed no sales had taken place and no goods had been purchased, meaning no VAT was due. At that time, McDaid, of Sandal Magna, Halifax, owned Casa Events, while Mr Revy-Holmes, of Upper Marsh, Halifax, was registered as a company director. Mr Brook, of Orchid Grove, Netherton, was director of Yorkshire Accountancy Services and worked as the accountant for Casa Events, Mr Russell told jurors. Prosecutor Brian Russell told the court all three men were "jointly responsible for ensuring the company's tax liabilities and obligations were met". However, they "knowingly and deliberately conspired together to commit the criminal act of evading VAT", Mr Russell said. The court heard that the alleged offences came to light when HM Revenue and Customs began investigating another of McDaid's companies, Castelite Developments, in September 2017. That investigation got under way after no VAT returns were made for the business, despite it being registered for a period of about three years, jurors were told. The trial continues. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Battery plant on farmland gets go-ahead
Proposals to build a battery energy storage system (BESS) on farmland in West Yorkshire have been approved. The application by Harmony Energy to install the facility at a six acre (2.5 hectare) site off Holmfield Lane, near Castleford, was given the go-ahead by Wakefield Council. The 36 energy storage unit BESS would take in power from renewable sources and release them to the National Grid when demand was high, the applicants said. A total of 49 residents objected to the scheme, citing concerns about traffic hazards along the lane, fire risks and the impact on local wildlife. The site was originally designated as greenbelt land under Wakefield Council's Local Plan, which was adopted in January 2024. However, it was later deemed to be "grey belt" land after the government published a revised national policy framework in December. A planning statement submitted by the energy company said the benefits brought by the scheme would outweigh any harm, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. It said the A1(M) and M62 motorways already dominated the openness of the greenbelt near Castleford. Harmony said this type of scheme was a "vital component in the drive towards zero carbon". "This type of technology has an important role to play across the National Grid, and at a local level in Wakefield's own target to achieve zero carbon by 2038," it stated. West Yorkshire Fire Service called for the scheme to be designed in accordance with National Fire Chiefs Council guidelines for BESS facilities. Proposals for a BESS facility less than half a mile away, off Stranglands Lane, next to the former Ferrybridge Power Station, were also approved last week. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North Green light for battery energy storage system Is greenbelt at more risk from move to protect it? Wakefield Council
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
University staff vote to strike over redundancies
Staff at the University of Lincoln have voted in favour of strike action over plans to shed nearly 300 jobs. The University and College Union (UCU), which has been calling for compulsory redundancies to be ruled out, said 86% of its members who voted had backed a walkout. The dispute is over the university's proposals to cut up to 285 staff with cuts falling across a number of areas, including the Lincoln International Business School and the history department among others. In a statement, the University of Lincoln said: "We have plans in place to minimise any disruption to teaching or the student experience if industrial action goes ahead." The union acknowledged there were challenges across the educational sector but said the crisis had been handled "especially poorly" at the University of Lincoln. It said the crisis had been made worse by careless spending decisions and a management team operating with little input from academic staff, or accountability for their mistakes. UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: "Yearly cuts had damaged staff morale and management must begin listening to their concerns. "If the vice-chancellor continues to refuse to change direction and rule out compulsory redundancies then we will be forced to strike." A University of Lincoln spokesperson said its priority was to "put students first" and it had a "clear vision and plan" amid the financial pressures facing UK universities. "We remain committed to meaningful dialogue with trades unions as we reshape the university, in line with our refreshed strategy, to meet the needs of the students, communities and businesses we serve." They said the university expected to "achieve a breakeven position due to careful management of finances over the past two years". Last month, a vote of no confidence was passed in the senior leadership team in response to "the direction the university is going in and the decisions that have been made". Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. No-confidence vote in university bosses is passed Uni could shed 285 jobs in 'worst case scenario' University of Lincoln University and College Union
