A chicken farm has been served with a legal notice after being found to be causing a 'nuisance' following complaints of swarms of flies in a Norfolk village.
North Norfolk District Council (NNDC) has delivered a legal notice to Banham Poultry following ongoing complaints from villagers over its farm at Fulmodeston, near Fakenham.
A spokesman for NNDC said: “The council has served a legal notice at Banham Poultry, under Section 80 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.”
Villagers say their lives are being made a misery by the flies, blaming the chicken farm in the village for the spread of the pests.
Section 80 of the act is defined as: "local authority is satisfied that a statutory nuisance exists."
It also states that: "Requiring the execution of such works, and the taking of such other steps, as may be necessary for any of those purposes, and the notice shall specify the time or times within which the requirements of the notice are to be complied with."
Speaking in June, Janet Smith, who has lived in Fulmodeston for 11 years, said residents can’t go on living with the swarm of flies invading their homes.
Banham Poultry had said it is trying to help the villagers by putting in place pest control measures over and above industry norms.
Helena Parker-Wright, chair of Fulmodeston Parish Council, said: “The parish council are in full support of any action that NNDC need to take to rectify this awful problem.”
Jerome Mayhew, MP for Broadland, added: "‘I have been helping Alison Dalby and residents in Fulmodeston with their ongoing concerns surrounding noise, flies and odour originating from this site.
"Following a public meeting I held on July 20, I have been in correspondence with authorities on residents’ behalf, and I welcome the fact that action is now finally being taken by the local council.
"I will continue to discuss this matter with residents to ensure it is sufficiently and permanently resolved.’
We contacted Banham Poultry for comment.
The farm reopened in January this year after it closed in 2020.
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