Committee publication · Correspondence · 13 January 2026

Correspondence from Ann Cuthbert regarding systemic regulatory failure in the oversight of intensive livestock operations, dated December 2025

From: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Summary

Ann Cuthbert requests parliamentary scrutiny of Cherry Tree Farm, a 7,000-pig intensive unit in Norfolk operated by Cranswick plc, alleging systemic regulatory failure by the Environment Agency, Breckland Council, and other bodies. She documents four years of pollution episodes, inaccurate permit baselines, health symptoms in residents (conjunctivitis, respiratory irritation, infections), planning enforcement paralysis, and inadequate public health assessment. She contends neither the EA nor planners have accurate site information, and public health investigations have used insensitive methodology.

Key findings

Around 700 pollution reports submitted to the Environment Agency since 2021; EA withdrew routine investigation in May 2024, directing residents to report directly to the operator instead.
Environmental permit baseline contains multiple documented inaccuracies: omitted water tanks, demolished buildings, legacy cesspit/slurry systems, drainage structures in wrong locations, and features outside declared site boundary.
Breckland Council initiated planning enforcement in 2021 for unauthorised development; retrospective applications remained undecided for nearly four years despite site continuing to operate, until recently refused outright.
Residents report symptoms consistent with bioaerosol exposure (conjunctivitis, nosebleeds, respiratory irritation, cellulitis, ringworm, resistant Pseudomonas infections); one previously healthy adult prescribed a bronchodilator inhaler during pollution plumes in 2022.
UKHSA health assessment examined only A&E attendances and emergency admissions 2019–2022, excluding years 2023–2025 and missing conditions treated in primary care; Norfolk Public Health report found elevated ammonia but used methodology incapable of detecting reported health effects.

Tone

Critical

Topics

environmental-permittingintensive-agricultureair-qualitypublic-healthplanning-enforcement

Key actors

Ann Cuthbert, Cranswick plc, Environment Agency, Breckland Council, Natural England, UK Health Security Agency, Norfolk County Council, Cherry Tree Farm

Notable line

“… represents a withdrawal of regulatory oversight and effectively places environmental monitoring under the control of the permit holder.”

Key Quotes

“Around 700 pollution reports regarding emissions from Cranswick Cherry Tree have been submitted to the EA since 2021 to December”
— Ann Cuthbert · documenting scale of reported pollution episodes

“… the EA wrote to residents in May 2024 to say that most incidents would not be investigated and that odour, noise and dust should instead be reported directly to the operator.”
— Ann Cuthbert · describing withdrawal of Environment Agency oversight

“Collectively, these omissions mean that the EA's risk assessments, compliance expectations and site-condition determinations are based on incomplete and inaccurate information.”
— Ann Cuthbert · summarising impact of permit baseline inaccuracies

“In 2022, my adult daughter, who has no underlying respiratory or health conditions was prescribed a Salamol (salbutamol) inhaler specifically for use during pollution plumes from the site.”
— Ann Cuthbert · providing clinical evidence of environment-triggered airway irritation

“… the report does not provide reassurance; it merely demonstrates that the wrong indicators were chosen, rendering the analysis insensitive to the very effects residents are reporting.”
— Ann Cuthbert · critiquing inadequacy of public health assessment methodology

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Source · parliament.uk record ↗