Plans to build a salmon farm in Cleethorpes will go ahead after a legal challenge by an animal rights group was dismissed.
Animal Equality UK launched a judicial review against North East Lincolnshire Council’s approval of AquaCultured Seafood Limited’s proposal, which was originally granted in November 2023. The group raised concerns over animal welfare.
Construction has been delayed pending the outcome of the legal proceedings, however a High Court judge has now ruled in favour of the council, allowing the project to proceed as planned.
North East Lincolnshire Council said it welcomed this judgement as a “vindication of the accuracy of the work carried out by its officers and the subsequent advice that was given as this application progressed through the planning process.”
Leader of the Council, Councillor Philip Jackson, added that he looks forward to seeing the development progress.
He said: “As Leader of this council with an ambition to build a stronger economy for the future, this scheme offers great opportunity in terms of the growth of innovative methods of sustainable salmon farming, along with the overall economic investment and employment opportunities it will create. This multi-million-pound development also further cements North East Lincolnshire and Grimsby’s position as leading the way in food and fish production and processing.”
Abigail Penny, Executive Director of Animal Equality UK, said: “For nearly two years we’ve put the brakes on the development of this disastrous fish factory and we have absolutely no intention of backing down now. This megafarm represents an entirely new form of factory farming. Similar initiatives have failed dismally in many countries, causing animals to lose their lives, people to lose their jobs, and investors to lose their money. The writing is on the wall. This is nothing but a corporate land grab and we won’t stand for it. We will fight until the bitter end.”
(Image: NELC / AquaCultured Seafood Limited)
Part of the Gi Grimsby News team since 2020.