Jobs before wildlife (and ethics)? Councillors urged to back salmon rearing factory in Cleethorpes

                                       

Rich in wildflowers and butterflies - the land earmarked for intensive salmon rearing

IT looks like a controversial proposal to build a salmon-rearing factory in Cleethorpes will go ahead.

At a North East Lincolnshire Council planning committee meeting next week, members will be recommended to approve the project on former railway sidings land between the sea wall and Grimsby Town FC’s ground at Blundell Park.

Assuming the applicants can secure the £75-million funding to go ahead with the 'aquaculture' development, it will  generate an estimated 80 jobs.

It will also reinforce the area’s longstanding fish processing and production credentials.

The target is to produce as much as 5,000 tonnes of fish per annum.

But if consent is granted, many people will be dismayed - most notably residents in and around Harrington Street who fear their lives will be blighted by smell, noise, light pollution and increased traffic. 

Although mitigation measures have been proposed, they will not compensate for the loss of what is officially recognised as a Local Wildlife Site - one where no fewer than 22 butterfly species have been recorded.

The organisation, Compassion in World Farming, will also be disappointed  by approval because it believes mass-rearing migratory species in confined space is likely to cause the fish acute distress.

Ethical and moral considerations seldom carry any weight in how planning applications are determined, but some committee members might feel tweaks from their consciences if they choose to back the venture.

Recommending approval senior planning case officer Richard Limmer says in his report to next Wednesday’s meeting: "The proposal will represent a significant economic investment into the area, creating a number of jobs through construction and then operation as well as supporting the food processing and manufacturing businesses in the area.

"It is  considered that the proposed development will not cause harm to residential amenities, the visual character of the area or biodiversity."