Poultry megafarm in Shropshire halted over river pollution concerns

Campaign group River Action argued that a rise in intensive poultry units was a key cause of river pollution for the Wye and the Severn, pictured. Photograph: Robert Harding/Alamy

Planning permission for a poultry megafarm in Shropshire has been overturned in a ruling that campaigners have welcomed as a win for cleaner rivers.

The judgment on Tuesday upheld a judicial review by Dr Alison Caffyn, who argued that Shropshire council had failed to take into account all the environmental impacts of an industrial chicken unit containing 230,000 birds at any one time when it granted planning permission.