Plans have been put forward for a poultry facility accommodating 36,000 chickens in the vicinity of an Oxfordshire village.

An application seeking approval for a broiler breeder operation has been filed with West Oxfordshire District Council by P D Hook Group Limited.

Should the proposal receive authorization, the company intends to construct four poultry buildings on land positioned just north of Bampton, providing accommodation for roughly 36,000 female birds along with males, with each structure housing 9,000 females.

The submitted application (26/00770/FUL) remains open until May 1, 2026, at which point it will be considered by the council’s planning committee.

Deanery Farm, located close to the Oxfordshire settlement, was acquired by P D Hook Group – a prominent British poultry breeding and rearing enterprise – in 2023.

Broiler breeder establishments maintain parent-stock chickens (hens and roosters) to generate fertile eggs that subsequently travel to hatcheries for incubation into broiler birds (chickens cultivated for meat production).

The application’s accompanying letter explains: “The British sector faces a shortage of broiler breeder facilities, and consequently hatching eggs.

This situation stems from avian influenza and the conversion of farms to egg-laying operations.

Demand for Red Tractor-certified British chicken is rising substantially, and because of insufficient domestic hatching egg production, the industry has begun sourcing these eggs from European suppliers.

Establishing broiler breeder facilities represents considerable significance for national food security and guaranteeing a robust and sustainable British supply of hatching eggs to satisfy consumer needs.”

All eggs yielded by the 36,000 hens would be transported to a separate facility operated by the group for rearing purposes.