In the light of leading Counsel's legal advice, Friends of the Earth, Pig Business and the Soil Association have written today to Derbyshire County Council urging them to refuse planning permission for the proposed development at Foston in Derbyshire.

The legal letter quotes recent research which shows that intensive pig factories of this kind can affect the health of nearby residents. This has been confirmed by the Government's Health Protection Agency, which says that those living within 150 metres of intensive pig farms "could be exposed to multi-drug resistant organisms".

Derbyshire County Council is obliged under the Human Rights Act 1998 to consider the rights of third parties when deciding whether to grant planning permission. The prison staff cannot avoid working close to the proposed development, unless they resign from their jobs. The inmates of Foston Hall prison are not living in the area by choice, and clearly do not have the option of moving away if the pig development goes ahead. They will not be able to escape the risk to their health posed by this development, and the letter warns that allowing the pig factory to go ahead could also breach the inmates’ right to be protected from inhumane treatment.

Peter Melchett, Policy Director of the Soil Association, said: "The objections to the pig factory at Foston are mounting all the time, because of the growing weight of new scientific evidence of real risks to the health of local people, and to the staff and inmates of the prison right next door to the proposed site. Now it seems that the legal rights of local people may also be infringed by the proposed development."

Tracy Worcester, producer of the Pig Business film, said: "This proposal for a vast intensive pig factory is the wrong direction for British farmers who need to be protected from cheap imports, not subjected to further unfair competition from subsidised factory farms. The planning committee must listen to the mounting evidence and objections and refuse planning permission. Anyone who does not support this proposal can still make their voice heard by objecting to the County Council."