Prince William and Princess Kate could be facing a foul-smelling disruption at their ten-bedroom Georgian country mansion, Anmer Hall, following King Charles' wishes to build a slurry pit on the Sandringham Estate.
The monarch has been granted permission to erect a malodorous manure lagoon at the royals' Norfolk hideaway and it will be built less than a kilometre away from the Waleses' country home.
King Charles took over the running of the 20,000 acre Sandringham Estate when his father Prince Philip retired from public life in 2017. Half of the land is farmed by the estate while the rest is rented out to tenant farmers.
Located on the grounds of the eastern English estate, the giant slurry pit will replicate the size of four Olympic swimming pools, almost 4,000 square metres, and will be dug in farming fields near Anmer Hall.
The estate can now dig out the enormous lagoon, which will be used to store almost 10,000 cubic metres of animal manure before it is applied to surrounding fields as fertiliser, despite objections from local villagers.
It is said that the controversial lagoon will provide a source of nutrient-rich organic fertiliser, which will reduce the need for chemical fertilisers in the area.
The fertiliser from the pit will be used to improve crops on 2,700 hectares of farmland, including wheat, barley, beans, and oat varieties.
© Bav MediaWhat have the locals said?
Despite a flurry of objection letters from locals in the nearby village of Flitcham, who worried about the smell, water pollution, flies, and a loss of tourism, the lagoon was given the go-ahead on Wednesday afternoon.
Planning officer Lucy Smith explained in a detailed report that "whilst neighbour comments in regard to the siting in proximity to the settlement of Flitcham are noted, there is no mechanism in place for the Local Planning Authority to consider general odour impacts from a nuisance perspective".
She also added that "no adverse tourism impacts are considered likely particularly given the site’s location surrounded by agricultural uses".
One villager pointed out that slurry pits are "extremely dangerous and pose a significant risk of death or serious injury due to toxic gases. Everything I have read about slurry pits makes for unpleasant reading if you happen to be the unfortunate people who live close by."
They continued: "In fact, if you type: 'Are slurry pits dangerous?' into Google, this is the first response that comes back. 'Yes, slurry pits are extremely dangerous and pose a significant risk of death or serious injury due to toxic gases.'"
© Bav MediaWhat was in the planning application?
The original statement submitted to King's Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council with the planning application said: "The proposals involve the formation of a fertiliser storage lagoon to serve an extensive, established land holding of approximately 2,700 hectares.
"This is farmed to grow crops, including modern and traditional wheat, barley, beans, and oat varieties, plus a range of heritage grains. The agricultural holding includes a substantial flock of Aberfield sheep and Beef Shorthorn cattle which produce organic, 100% grass-fed meat."
It continued: "As part of the Estate’s ongoing conservation management, an area of arable land has been converted to agroforestry which involved the integration of crops and livestock in woodland, or among trees, to improve biodiversity.
© Getty"A variety of trees, including cider apple, perry pear, plum, quince, mulberry, and walnut, have since been planted in addition to wildflower strips. The proposed development will deliver a new fertiliser storage lagoon to provide fertiliser storage capacity to serve the network of fields surrounding the application site."
It added that the new facility would be in a good location as it is near the fields it would serve and has vegetation around the field boundaries to hide it, and that the organic fertilisers would greatly improve the soil and reduce the need to rely on manufactured chemical fertilisers.
According to the application, the lagoon would be enclosed by a landscaped bund, which would be seeded with meadow grass and a range of wild flowers.
