Campaign group River Action has won a major legal victory, overturning approval of a 200,000-bird intensive poultry farm near Shrewsbury in the River Severn catchment.

The case was brought against Shropshire Council by local campaigner and River Action board member Dr Alison Caffyn. The judgment quashes Shropshire Council’s planning decision and, says the group, marks a major turning point in the fight for protection of the UK’s rivers.

Caffyn said, "There are nearly 65 chickens for every person in Shropshire and yet the Council still thought we needed more.

"This ruling proves what we've said all along - the planning system is putting our rivers at risk. This case is a win for communities across the UK who are standing up to the environmental degradation caused by industrial factory farming."

River Action says its victory sends a clear message that planning authorities must:

• Assess the cumulative impact of multiple intensive agricultural developments in one river catchment before granting permissions

• Consider how livestock production units dispose of waste from treatment facilities downstream, including anaerobic digestion plants

The campaigners say the case highlights systemic failures to account for the environmental toll of clusters of industrial-scale poultry farms, and has shone a light on the problems with the planning system when it comes to agricultural developments in protected sites like the Severn and Wye catchments.

The judicial review focused on Shropshire Council’s failure to assess the environmental impact of the development, including the practice of spreading poultry manure or digestate on surrounding land. The Council has been invited to comment.