A poultry farm at the southern end of the Sunshine Coast is planning to add more sheds to prevent it falling ‘fowl’ of RSPCA guidelines.
Woodlands Enterprises Pty Ltd has applied to Sunshine Coast Council to add eight more chicken sheds to its 46-hectare farm at 11 Murphys Road, Beerburrum, taking the total number of sheds to 17.
The application is currently in the public consultation period, which is open until July 29.
It comes after Woodlands last month responded to requests for more information from the council and State Assessment and Referral Agency regarding concerns about odour and setbacks to wetlands and neighbouring properties.
A town planning report filed in July 2023 by Plan A Town Planning Pty Ltd on behalf of Woodlands outlines the need to expand the facility.
“Due to RSPCA density standard changes, the applicant seeks to construct additional sheds onsite to accommodate the original approved number of birds in response to the reduced industry standards,” it states.
The report states the extension seeks to accommodate the approved bird capacity of 45,264 per shed, a total of 769,488 birds across the farm.
It says a poultry farm has operated on the site for more than 20 years.
“The proposed sheds have been purposefully designed and located to integrate with the existing development and minimise the potential for any adverse impacts for surrounding land or properties,” it states.
“The sheds are of a similar scale to that which lawfully exists onsite and are within proximity of the existing development footprint as much as reasonably possible to minimise any clearing.”
Plan A principal town planner Emily Hutchinson said bird numbers on the farm were determined by RSPCA rules.
“The stocking density of birds is governed by the RSCPA guidelines, which Woodlands must adhere to. We note these stocking densities can change from time to time,” she said.
“In order to maintain bird numbers, additional sheds may be required on existing Woodlands farms to meet demand.”
The poultry farm grows chickens for major national retailers. The site was purchased in 1988 and Woodlands has operated the site for 36 years.
The Woodlands website says the business has been present on the Sunshine Coast for more than 100 years, starting out growing strawberries and pineapples at Beerwah. It later branched into poultry farming, which is now the main focus of the business.
Woodlands currently has about 225 local employees as well as farm managers.
The proposed extension will generate about 50 employment opportunities.
Public submissions on the proposal can be made here.
The aerial imagery in this story is from Australian location intelligence company Nearmap. The company provides government organisations, architectural, construction and engineering firms, and other companies with easy, instant access to high-resolution aerial imagery, city-scale 3D content, artificial intelligence data sets, and geospatial tools to assist with urban planning, monitoring and development projects in Australia, New Zealand and North America.
Do you have an opinion to share? Submit a Letter to the Editor at Sunshine Coast News via news@sunshinecoastnews.com.au. You must include your name and suburb.
