A GROUP of residents in Broughton Gifford and Shaw are aghast at plans to put an enormous slurry container in a field near their homes.

Dairy farmers Paul and Catherine Richards have applied to place the 1,633,000-litre container in a field at Common Farm, off Norrington Lane, to store slurry produced by their cattle herd at Court Farm in Gastard.

Nearby residents are appalled at the thought of the potential smell from the slurry, and a possible increase in traffic along Norrington Lane.

John Willcock, whose Norrington Common home backs onto the field which would house the container, said: “We found out what it was and where it would be and went around asking our neighbours if they’d heard anything about it. With two exceptions nobody had heard anything at all.

“It will be brought down from a farm in Gastard through Whitley and Shaw and turn into Norrington Lane. We think it will lead to quite a significant increase in traffic.

“We appreciate we live in a countryside area, and we all support the farmers. We understand there is an EU directive which means they have to have a new slurry tank, but it could be anywhere on this particular farmer’s land, it doesn’t have to be this close to human habitation.”

Although the plans were submitted in August, residents say they only recently found out about them as only one planning notice was posted, on a gate at the farm which is left open, making it hard to spot.

They have now objected to Wiltshire Council, but were too late to complain to Broughton Gifford Parish Council, who did not lodge a formal objection to the plans.

A decision on the application for the 5.7m high container is expected in the next few weeks, and Mr Willcock hopes the concerns of residents will be listened to.

“I think from the moment we heard about it we’ve feared this was a done deal, but we hope it isn’t and hope the legitimate viewpoint of people in this area will be taken into account,” he said.

Mr and Mrs Richards were on holiday this week, but their agent, architect Stephen Dalley Smith, said: “I’m given to understand that although it’s called a slurry store it wouldn’t be slurry inside but separated water, and the smell would be minimal.”

Mr Dalley Smith added that tractors would be transporting the slurry between the farms, and traffic would remain the same as now as the journey is already made to spread slurry as fertiliser.