Plans for biogas farm in Great Bowden rejected by council

Leicestershire County Council’s Development Control and Regulatory Board met on Monday (September 14), to decide whether to approve an anaerobic digestion plant at Marigold Farm, off Welham Lane, Great Bowden.

The plant would use a mix of poultry manure, straw and maize to create gas, which would be transported via pipes to the main National Grid pipeline.

The application has seen more than 300 objections to the plan, as well as calls from MPs and councillors for the plan to be refused.

It was previously pushed back to August 2025 to assess potential highway impacts on nearby roads, as well as the environmental impacts of nearby Hursley Park Country Park and the James Adler Nature Reserve.

Last week, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) spoke to residents who feared potential smells and traffic “mayhem” if it goes ahead.

During the meeting, Liberal Democrat Cllr Phil Knowles, representing Great Bowden and Arden, said 100,000 tonnes going in and out of the site made him “deeply concerned”.

Harborough District Council (HDC) leader Simon Whelband also told the committee that the district council’s concerns “had not gone away” and residents already deal with odour from another nearby plant.

He added: “This is a substantial development in rural development. There are main concerns around highways and odour.

“We believe these concerns are compelling reasons why this is simply not the right location for this development.

“This is the wrong development in the wrong location”.

HDC Green Party councillors also made representations, calling the site “entirely inappropriate” due to its proximity to residents, Hursley Park Country Park, and the James Adler Nature Reserve.

Conservative MP for Harborough Neil O’Brien also told the committee the effect of site traffic on the nearby A6 would be “totally disastrous”, while adding that it would be “totally implausible” for there to be no smell from the site.

Concerns were also raised by objectors and residents about additional evidence regarding traffic levels on the A6 and Welham Lane, as well as potential odour.

Maria Arnison, who lives on Welham Lane, said she would live less than 500m from the proposed site but questioned whether the site “was the right location”.

She added: “Welham Lane is used every day by walkers, cyclists and horse riders.

“What concerns me is the balance between environmental benefit and community impact.

“I would respectfully ask the committee to consider how realistic it is to assume a development this scale, so close to homes and a village, can truly have no meaningful impact on people living alongside it”.

James Cook, representing Great Bowden Green Energy, told the committee that the applicant had 36 years’ experience operating similar schemes, oversaw 40 biogas plants in the UK and was “a leader in the biogas sector”.

He added: “These plants are the same as this application.

“These plants have operated four million operating hours with no complaints to environmental health officers or the Environment Agency.

“The applicant is happy to create a community liaison group. This will act as a direct two-way line of communication between key stakeholders and operators of the facility”.

Reform councillor Bill Piper said he feared that poultry manure “smelled quite nastily” after speaking to a farmer, and questioned the safety of traffic which may be generated on the A6.

He said: “It does seem to me to be one of the most dangerous places to be turning on a very fast road.

“I came into this meeting today very open-minded, and my colleague asked me which way I was going to go. I waved my hand and said, “I don’t know”.

“But hearing the evidence, I don’t think we’ve got here an acceptable plan”.

Independent Cllr Michael Charlesworth asked a highways officer if there were five or six vehicles on Welham Road, if it would “effectively block it”.

The highways officer said there was enough room for one or two HGVs, but five or six would “become a problem on the A6”.

Cllr Charlesworth added: “I support sustainable energy, I really do. I share the concerns with the objectors.

“They clearly think the evidence to this board is not as accurate as they wish it to be”.

Councillors eventually proposed a motion to refuse the application on the basis that it would cause “substantial harm” to the area, including vehicle movements and potential smell.

The motion was carried by the committee, and the plan was refused.

Cllr Knowles said: “I’m delighted that we won the vote. The strength of feeling right across the political spectrum on this, the wonderful coordinated campaign by the community. It shouldn't be underestimated.

"I think it's the right decision, and really grateful that we were able to deliver it.”