Tips for your planning objection

Factory farms are spreading across the UK countryside, but they only happen if councils give them permission. Most applications go through the local planning system, and that means communities have the right to object. Planning officers and your elected councillors are legally obliged to listen.

The planning process can feel technical and intimidating. Developers rely on that, they hope most people won’t dig into the paperwork. But with the right tips, you can write an objection that holds weight, hits the right legal notes, and makes it harder for planning officers to ignore. 

What counts, and what doesn't

When you write your objection, you need to stick to material planning considerations - these are the issues councils are legally allowed to consider:

Valid grounds include:

• Climate change impacts (since the Finch v Surrey County Council ruling, councils must assess downstream greenhouse gas emissions).
• Water pollution (slurry and ammonia from ILUs can contaminate rivers and groundwater).
• Air quality and public health (ammonia and particulates affect nearby homes, schools, and care settings).
• Noise, traffic, and landscape impacts.
• Loss of biodiversity or failure to meet biodiversity net gain rules.
• Animal welfare can be a material planning consideration, but councils can also choose not to make it a material consideration.
• Conflict with Local Plan policies or the National Planning Policy Framework.

Not valid grounds: dislike of the developer, property values, or general objections to eating meat. 

What to look out for

Planning applications are stuffed with technical documents. Here’s how to pick them apart and find the gaps that matter:

Environmental Statement (ES) - is there a greenhouse gas assessment? 

Developers often ignore or downplay climate impacts. They may only count emissions from the on-site boiler or machinery, but not the far bigger sources like nitrous oxide from manure and fertiliser and emissions from imported feed like soya.

The Finch v Surrey County Council Supreme Court ruling (2024) makes it clear: if emissions are foreseeable and quantifiable, they must be assessed, and this assessment presented transparantly for the public to consider. We proved to the council in our campaign to block a megafarm in Norfolk that this ruling applies to intensive livestock developments. Missing GHG assessments are a legal red flag. It means communities and decisionmakers don't have vital information on how the unit might risk local and national climate targets and planning policy.   

You may find that the developer tries to downplay the climate impact of the development - for example describing the impact as 'negible' because poultry or pigs are produce less methane. But this is not a quantitative emissions assessment and therefore not compatible with the law.

WWF’s expert submission to King’s Lynn Council during the Methwold case set out what a credible GHG assessment should include. A lawful GHG assessment under Finch should transparently set out animal numbers, production volumes, recognised emissions intensities, and calculate annual and cumulative tCO₂e. It must be site-specific, use credible published data, and show the major emissions sources.

Waste management

Recent case law, including NFU v Herefordshire and Caffyn v Shropshire Council, has made clear that planning authorities cannot lawfully determine intensive livestock applications without a full assessment of the downstream impacts of manure and waste, including nutrient loading and cumulative effects. Simply relying on exporting waste to other farms or anaerobic digesters is not enough.

• Where is the manure going? Is there evidence that the destination has a nutrient deficiency, and thus and won't lead to the pollution of rivers?
• Are slurry lagoons/tanks described in detail, or glossed over?
• Do they address risks to local rivers, groundwater, and soil?

Consultation

Was there proper public consultation? Are responses from statutory bodies (Natural England, Environment Agency) published?

Red Flags to Spot

• Splitting applications into smaller ones to dodge Environmental Impact Assessments.
• Outdated ecology surveys (over 2 years old).
• Exporting waste to “other farms” with no contracts or evidence.
• Glossy PR language instead of detail.

How to object

So you've gone to your local council’s planning portal and searched for the application by its reference number, what's next?

We recommend drafting your objection on word or a notes app before you submit so that you can save and edit as you go along. Use our tips and template objection to create your own, and then use the “Comment” button to submit your objection (you can also email the planning officer directly, quoting the reference). Make sure you do this before the consultation deadline. 

Stuck on time? Here is an example objection text for an application that doesn't contain the required greenhouse gas assessment:

My name is ___ and  I am a resident local to ____. I object to this application on the grounds of climate and environmental harm.

The Environmental Statement does not include a quantified greenhouse gas (GHG) assessment, despite this being required by law. The Supreme Court judgment in Finch v Surrey County Council (2024) confirmed that planning authorities must assess all foreseeable and quantifiable GHG emissions arising from a development. Without this information, the Council cannot lawfully determine the application and leaves itself at risk of judicial review. A similar intensive pig and poultry proposal was refused by King’s Lynn & West Norfolk Council in April 2025 on this basis.

The development would also increase heavy vehicle movements, odour, and noise, and would negatively affect local people, nature, and the countryside.

Because the application fails to provide the essential climate information required under the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations, I urge the Council to refuse this proposal.

What next?

• Go back to your local council’s planning portal, find the application, and use the “comment” function to submit your objection
• You can also email your objection directly to the planning department
• Submit before the consultation deadline
• Keep a copy of your objection
• Encourage others to object too, and share your objection widely 
• Contact your councillor to flag your concerns
• If it goes to committee, register to speak (usually 2–3 minutes)

If the application is refused, the developer may appeal. You can resubmit your objection to the Planning Inspectorate. The council will make a recommendation to approve or refuse after the consultation closes. Either way, if there is significant public interest the application is likely to go to committee where councillors and the public will hear arguments for and against the application. You may speak at this meetings or ask experts to speak on your behalf. If the council approves without following the law, campaigners may pursue legal challenge via Judicial Review. 

Why it matters

Councils are starting to reject factory farm proposals when they fail to meet legal requirements. But developers are still pushing weak and misleading applications, hoping they’ll slip through. The more people who can spot the gaps and raise them in writing, the harder it is for factory farms to expand.

NGOs and lawyers have played an important role in blocking these developers but it is community action that really makes the difference. Every objection adds weight and profile, and every missing assessment you point out is another reason councillors can say no. 

Good luck and let us know how you get on!