Kjós municipality opposes chicken farm and demands environmental assessment

Kjós municipality has formally opposed plans for a new chicken farm at Tindstaðir and asked the Housing and Construction Authority to require an environmental impact assessment, according to mbl.is.

Seven submissions were made through the planning portal regarding plans by Matfugl ehf. to build a facility for up to 39,900 birds. The project would involve four new chicken houses on 32 hectares at Tindstaðir, which is within Reykjavík’s jurisdiction but geographically located in Miðdal in Kjós.

Kjós municipality cited increased traffic and disruption in a quiet agricultural community, nearby residential and holiday-home development, the risk of odours, a poor gravel road, dust pollution, a weak bridge over the Kiðafellsá river and difficult winter conditions.

The municipality said the available documents did not show that the project’s effects would be insignificant. Instead, it said they indicated a substantial, permanent and largely irreversible change to a sensitive rural landscape.

Kjós municipality asked the authority to assess the project as a whole, including both planned phases and all related construction and operational elements. These include roads, bridges, utilities, water extraction, sewage, fertiliser storage and distribution, and backup power.

It also requested assessments of the effects on residents and approved residential development at Morastaðir, holiday-home areas, tourism, farming, outdoor recreation and material assets within the municipality. It called for verifiable analyses of the landscape, odours, air quality, noise, traffic, water and infrastructure, as well as a realistic assessment of alternatives.

The municipality said that no services, connections or financial contributions from Kjós municipality should be assumed without a written decision or agreement. It also said the project developer should cover the costs of studies, infrastructure improvements, mitigation measures and monitoring required by the operation, to the extent permitted by law.

It further requested specific and reasoned responses to all substantive comments from the municipality, residents, landowners and other stakeholders.

Transport assessment criticised

Reykjavík City said its transport director considered the transport assessment seriously inadequate and insufficient as a basis for evaluating the project’s traffic impacts.

The city said the assessment did not adequately address the project’s effects on the road network that would be used for planned heavy transport. It also lacked discussion of existing traffic on Eyrarfjallsvegur and the project’s effects on neighbouring roads.

Reykjavík City raised no other objections to locating the planned operation on land that is mostly designated as agricultural land under the Reykjavík Municipal Plan 2040. The city said the operation could be compatible with the land use permitted under the plan, and that further details about the operation and its environmental effects would be set out in a detailed development plan.