Slurry law pits dairy against neighbours

Jeremy Holmes of Delph House Farm in Upper Denby says he is being forced into the plan to comply with a new law – plans which will cost him more than £30,000.

The Farm, whose dairy makes Yummy Yorkshire ice cream, has submitted plans to Barnsley Council for a new slurry lagoon off Gunthwaite Lane.

Some villagers have said they will no longer take milk from the farm or visit its award-winning ice-cream parlour.

Cathy Fletcher, who lives near to the proposed slurry store, said: “We’re not happy at all – the farm is well over a mile away – slurry stores should be sited next to the cowshed not brought across a main road, past a school and through a village.

“I suppose he doesn’t want it next to his ice-cream parlour.”

But Mr Holmes said: “I have no other choice, I have the full backing from the Environment Agency. I have been pushed into a corner.

“It is not a case of me increasing my herd size and it’s not because my farm has got bigger – this is going to cost me financially.

“I am totally sympathetic to the villagers and understand their worries. We have an open farm policy here and my wife and I visit local schools to talk about what we do. We want to be very clear that we do not want to do this.

“We are being forced to do so by new regulations imposed by the EU for farms in nitrate vulnerable zones which state that as of January 1 2012, it is now law to hold five months’ worth of slurry over the closed spreading period which is from October 15 to January 15.

“Our current store only has the capacity to hold four months’ worth and we cannot make this store any bigger.”

Mr Holmes added that the proposed site is the only other piece of land he has that is not near a water course and is large enough for the lagoon.