Stop This Factory Farm Expanding Without Scrutiny
Stop This Factory Farm Expanding Without Scrutiny
Latest: July 23, 2026
Council plans to defend its decision - here's what happens next
Thank you for supporting our legal challenge to stop this factory farm in Essex expanding without scrutiny. Only a few days after launching, we wanted to share where we're at with this case, as thing…
Read moreA factory farm was given the green light to confine more chicks without proper consideration of its environmental and animal welfare harms.
We’re bringing a legal challenge to stop the cruel expansion.
With your support, we can overturn this death sentence for thousands of chicks.
How we got here
In June 2026, Braintree District Council approved the expansion of a factory farm at Hubbards Farm in Shalford despite clear legal flaws in the application.
The applicant was vague and provided conflicting information on the number of birds that will be confined. Whilst applying for a permit for almost 110,000 chickens, Councillors were told only 5,000 birds would be accommodated. They also failed to reveal the full scale of air pollution and animal welfare impacts.
"This decision was made without full awareness of the environmental, biodiversity, public health, and animal welfare impacts. The Council’s lack of scrutiny over conflicting bird numbers and lack of environmental detail is deeply concerning.” - Jo Lazarus, Campaign Coordinator, CAFF
Over a thousand objections were submitted to the proposal. Local residents raised concerns about their health, local environment, and the suffering of birds trapped inside the factory farm.
Yet, Braintree District Council waved through the plans without even requesting more information to determine if this was a major expansion of bird numbers.
We're challenging the decision – and need your help to stop this deadly expansion.
How You Can Help
We’re the last line of defence before millions more chicks are born into a lifetime of cruelty.
We need your help to raise at least £4,000 to bring this legal challenge. To start, we need to raise £600 to pay for initial legal fees.
Legal action works – we’ve already reversed planning decisions through legal challenges. But a case like this comes at considerable cost for an organisation like ours.
To take this case all the way to High Court, we have a stretch target of £40,000. With your support, we can hold Braintree District Council to account, stop this sneaky intensification and prevent the expansion of intensive chicken farms.
Thank you for anything you can spare – every donation helps end us fight against factory farming.
Communities Against Factory Farming (CAFF)
July 23, 2026
Council plans to defend its decision - here's what happens next
Thank you for supporting our legal challenge to stop this factory farm in Essex expanding without scrutiny. Only a few days after launching, we wanted to share where we're at with this case, as things are progressing quickly.
We issued our Pre-Action Protocol Letter (the letter that needs to be sent before making a claim) to Braintree District Council.
>>> They have now responded to say that they plan to defend the claim.
This means that we will be pressing ahead with making our case for why approving this factory farm expansion was deficient and its approval should be quashed.
Next step: our excellent legal team at Richard Buxton Solicitors are preparing everything to issue the claim.
Legal action like this comes at a cost for an organisation like ours. We're the last line of defence before this factory farm can expand without proper scrutiny of its environmental and animal welfare effects. But we can't stop it alone.
Could you share this page with 5 friends who care about the environment and / or animal welfare?
Or if you want to post about it on Facebook, here's a draft text you could use:
This council approved a factory farm without knowing how many chickens it would confine. A legal challenge is underway – can you help stop this deadly expansion? https://www.
Thank you for standing against factory farm expansion. We'll have another update soon!
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