Locals Fear ‘Traffic Mayhem’ As Biogas Plant Faces Approval
Written by HFM News on 12th September 2026
By Chris Harper, Local Democracy Reporter
A year after plans to build a biogas farm near Great Bowden were last discussed, they’re back on the table again – and people haven’t changed their minds.
Villagers say the long-running plan is “bonkers” and fear it could bring traffic “mayhem”.
Leicestershire County Council’s Development Control and Regulatory Board is set to meet next week (September 14) to decide if an anaerobic digestion plant at Marigold Farm, off Welham Way, Great Bowden, should be approved.
The plant would use a mix of poultry manure, straw and maize to create gas, which would be transported via pipes to the main National Grid pipeline.
The application was originally lodged in 2024 and was heard by the board in August 2025, but was pushed back to assess potential highway impacts on nearby roads, as well as the environmental impacts of nearby Hursley Park Country Park and the James Adler Nature Reserve.
More than 300 people originally objected to the plan, including Conservative MP for Harborough Neil O’Brien, after fears were raised about smells and the impact of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) entering and exiting the site.
Now, county council officers are recommending that the plan be approved after highways bosses said the plan’s impact on nearby roads would not be “severe” and that the effects on nearby parks or nature reserves would be “insignificant”.
The Proposed Site For The Biogas Farm (CREDIT: GOOGLE MAPS)
Applicant Great Bowden Green Energy has previously said its plan to build an anaerobic digestion plant on the land would bring the site back into use while contributing to green energy production.
The applicant also said that the site would produce no smells and that there would be a maximum of 52 lorry movements in and out of the site per day. An Environmental Health Officer has also said the potential for odour complaints is “not significant”, according to the report.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) spoke to local residents in Northfield Avenue, about 500m from the proposed site, who say they still fear they will be unable to put their laundry out due to the smell.
Andy Poore, 55, who has lived on the street for five years, said: “In the summer, you’re not going to be able to put your laundry on the line because of the smell.
“They want to approve a proposal that will allow up to 55 HGVs a day to turn out of that junction.
“Sooner or later, people will die. It’s as simple as that. Refuse trucks can’t even use that road.
“Welham Road has become popular for people walking, taking horses. I take my daughter up there, and I’ve seen people drive HGVs down there.
“It’s dangerous and affects people’s livelihoods. I don’t have anything against the plan, but not 500m from my front door”.
John Favill, 82, of Northfield Avenue (CREDIT: LDRS)
Similar concerns were also raised by John Favill, 82, who thought the traffic situation didn’t make sense.
He added: “It’s already not a very good road-wise. It’s a pretty dangerous place to be.
“I’ve worked in logistics all my life, and if you think you can schedule tractors and vehicles to go up there every 10 minutes or so, you’re nuts. You’re bonkers. It’s impossible.
“If they put a roundabout in, I could go. ‘Yeah, that makes sense, ‘ but a junction like that, the congestion is going to be bad and dangerous.
“It’s just going to be like mayhem”.
Northfield Avenue which will be situated around 500m from the proposed site (CREDIT: LDRS)
Chris Attenborough, representing the Great Bowden residents’ association, said he and residents hoped that the council would “consider the latest independent evidence and the real-world impact of how this plant would actually operate”.
He added: “Our concern is whether this is the right site for a plant of this scale. We recognise that the digestion process itself is largely enclosed, but the plant would still need to bring in, unload, move and store around 9,000 tonnes of poultry manure every year – a material readily acknowledged to be highly odorous.
“We simply don’t think activities of that kind should be taking place around 85 metres from people’s homes.
“We are also very concerned about highway safety. The A6 is already an acknowledged collision-risk route, and adding substantial numbers of slow-moving tractors and trailers is likely to increase that risk”.
Councillors on the regulatory board will decide whether or not to approve the plan next week at Leicestershire County Hall.
