Contesting countryside smells: the power of intensive livestock odours

Caffyn, Alison 2021. Contesting countryside smells: the power of intensive livestock odours. Journal of Rural Studies 86 , pp. 554-565. 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2021.07.021

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Abstract

Agricultural smells permeate many rural areas and yet are little researched. Following scent trails can reveal much about rural relations and contestations. This research explored how smell emerged as one of the most controversial subjects during planning consultations over proposed intensive poultry units in the UK counties of Herefordshire and Shropshire. It considers how sensory knowledge is constructed within a planning context, comparing technical odour modelling reports submitted as planning evidence with the lay knowledge and experience of local residents and businesses. The mixed methods deployed included walking interviews and solo walks which gathered evidence of how smells from intensive livestock operations are experienced on the ground. The farming sector tends to normalise agricultural smells while many local residents experience an increasingly dissonant smellscape which affects their wellbeing in multiple ways. Focusing on one sensory dimension reveals contrasting understandings of the rural and how relations of power are contested in the rural planning arena.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Geography and Planning (GEOPL)
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	0743-0167
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	5 August 2021
Date of Acceptance:	20 July 2021
Last Modified:	07 Nov 2023 06:20
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/143197

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