North Warwickshire Borough Council: Shut-down abattoir that scaled up slaughtering 10-fold denied permission for the work already done

A CAMPAIGNER broke down in tears after a Warwickshire abattoir shut down by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) had planning permission refused for changes already made to its building.

- By ANDY MITCHELL Local Democracy Reporter

North Warwickshire Borough Council’s planning and development board, the panel of councillors tasked with taking the decision, voted unanimously to say no to the scaling up of what used to be a butcher’s shop on Ansley Lane, Arley.

That and the work already being completed opened up the question of whether enforcement action should follow, something that was discussed in a behind-closed-doors session after the meeting.

The site has been at the eye of a storm with locals for some time with covert footage taken by animal rights activists preceding its closure by the FSA on “animal welfare grounds”.

Long-time objector Carolyn McKay, flanked by so many supporters that the public gallery was beyond capacity, wept when the verdict came in.

Under previous ownership, the business had done its own slaughtering but the council's planning report said that an average of less than 3,900 animals per year were killed there over a 14-year period.

A certificate of lawful use was issued in November 2023 but the takeover over by Dr Arhfat Ahmed’s T & S Investment Group led to more than ten times the volume of animals being slaughtered there - more than 39,000 - in the year from March 2024.

Slaughtering took place across four days instead of one and for longer hours and formed part of the council's recommendation for refusal, the increased activity causing “significant and demonstrable harm to residential amenity and highway safety”.

The case was delayed in May because the firm had put forward information and amendments to address issues.