FIVE new houses can be built on the outskirts of Gillingham after plans were approved by Dorset Council last week.
The owners of the former chicken farm on Bay Road – Savage Cat Farm – submitted plans to demolish three agricultural poultry barns at the site and replace it with five new energy-efficient houses.
The farm was used as a broiler chicken business for more than 25 years, with the business producing more than 1.5 million chickens a year.
According to the planning statement, the farm’s main supplying contract was cancelled due to Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) rules in regard to maximum distances from their processing factory in Oxford.
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Things were made even more difficult for the business as the only other processor is found in Cullompton which is over 60 miles away, and they were not taking on new farms at present as they have a large group of nearby farmers who supply them.

The site location – almost two miles from Gillingham town centre Picture: Orme
Prior approval was granted previously for the conversion of the buildings in May 2023- but these latest plans includes the installation of a solar array and a “vastly improved” design for the houses.
The houses would be a mix of three three-beds and two four-beds.
Concerns over the plans
The plans faced opposition from Gillingham Town Council, who requested the application be considered by Dorset Council’s Northern Area Planning Committee as they say the proposals are “out of character with the area” and will have an “adverse effect” on the rural character of the Gillingham Royal Forest Project Area.
They also raised issues with the site’s distance from Gillingham – roughly two miles from the town centre – arguing the houses would be classed as remote and those living there would be reliant on the use of cars.
According to Whiteacre Planning, who put the plans together on behalf of Savage Cat Farm, the applicant is committed to contribute to the ambitions of the project and will plant appropriate native species tree specimens across the site.
Whiteacre Planning say extensive landscaping would also enable the site to be restored, with the majority of the site returning to grass, trees and hedgerows thanks to replanting efforts.
A large bank of solar panels, previously used on the farm site, would be reused to provide renewable energy for the entire site.
“This scheme provides a vastly improved design in terms of space and living conditions compared to that already approved,” Whiteacre Planning said in the design and access statement.
“The proposal not only provides better housing, but it would also be more in keeping in this countryside location.”
Better to have houses than that stinky chicken farm.