Author: Margaret Starkie

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Anglian Water Phase 3 Consultation coming soon – get involved!

sunset over diggers.

A lot has been going on in the last couple of months but now we have reached a very important stage.

Phase 3 Consultation

Everything Save Honey Hill does is aimed at derailing the application to relocate the plant to Green Belt at Honey Hill. Anglian Water has scheduled the Phase 3 Consultation for mid- to late-February. It will run for 8 weeks and all residents will have the chance to comment. Those comments will go to the Planning Inspectors; it is a real chance to get over to them our objections and, if the application is agreed, to lessen the effects on our communities.

So look out for a leaflet from Save Honey Hill telling you what we consider are the important issues and please do complete the consultation when Anglian Water delivers their leaflets (you will be able to do it online or on their form). They will contact 10,600 properties so there is a good opportunity to make our voices heard.

North East Cambridge Area Action Plan

We have tried to influence decisions on plans for North East Cambridge because that is the reason Anglian Water and Councils want the plant to move. We have attended meetings at SCDC and Cambridge City Council, written letters to councillors, Government ministers and MPs, been quoted in local newspapers and generally made a nuisance of ourselves. We think the decision by both councils to approve the proposals for NECAAP is premature; there won’t be a public consultation on it until after the Planning Inspector has decided on the sewage works relocation.

Engagement with Anglian Water

We are also in discussion with Anglian Water at their Community Working Group meetings alongside representatives of the four Parish Councils. Although our aim is to stop the relocation completely, we want to influence the best design if it happens. This includes odour control, screening and maintenance of the trees used, size and location of the stacks, carbon footprint, light pollution and impact on the villages. One of the main concerns is the site access. Option 3 is our preferred access for both permanent and construction traffic as a dedicated service road from the layby on the northern carriageway of the A14 between Junctions 34 and 35 will have less impact on traffic flow and the pedestrian and cycle path on Horningsea Road and less risk to children going to school. If Option 1, Junction of A14 with Horningsea Road, is chosen, then Option 1B is preferable as being less disruptive to traffic and hopefully less likely to encourage HGVs to use the village roads of Fen Ditton and Horningsea.

Next steps

Everyone can help by completing the Consultation when Anglian Water publishes it. State your objections and let Anglian Water and the Planning Inspector know what you think must happen to make the plant less of a huge industrial blot on our landscape.

Our website (and this blog post) will be updated with direct links to the consultation when it is publishes.

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Statements from Cambridgeshire County Council Candidates

The election takes place on 6 May 2021.   Save Honey Hill Group has invited the candidates for the Waterbeach and Fulbourn Divisions to state their position on the proposed relocation of the sewage works to Honey Hill.
 
Statements from candidates have been added to this website in the order in which they are received – For any candidate, who has not yet sent a statement, then it is not too late to do so.
 
Save Honey Hill has no political affiliation as a group.  
 
Liberal Democrat Cambridgeshire County Council candidates Anna Bradnam (Waterbeach Division) and Claire Daunton (Fulbourn division)

“Your Liberal Democrat councillors have been open and honest in setting out the options now available to residents on the re-location of the Cambridge Wastewater Treatment Plant. There are no planning grounds on which South Cambridgeshire District Council can challenge the decision to relocate the plant. It is allowed for in the current Local Plan 2018, which was found sound following an Examination in Public in 2014. Funding for the relocation was sought by the Conservative-controlled Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority in 2017, supported by Labour-controlled Cambridge City Council and Anglian Water – not by South Cambridgeshire District Council.
Under the DCO process, Anglian Water will now submit a planning application for Honey Hill (a choice of site which none of us supported) directly to the Planning Inspectorate. Your Liberal Democrat councillors have made it clear that the application would have to meet high standards of operational efficiency, odour control, screening and landscaping to get our support. In addition, to reject it outright at this point, would jeopardise our ability to take part in any decision on it, should it subsequently be referred for local determination.”

Conservative Cambridgeshire County Council candidate George Walker (Fulbourn division).

“I strongly share the concerns of local residents of the proposed Honey Hill development, it is simply not an appropriate site. There are clear issues regarding access to the site, given the weight limits on local roads and the potential increase in HGV traffic. This also brings safety concerns given the existent cycle/footpath routes from Horningsea via Fen Ditton or National Cycle Route 51 along Newmarket Road. If elected to the county council, I would endeavour to represent the views of impacted residents and work closely with colleagues on the district council to achieve this.”

Labour Cambridgeshire County Council candidate James Bull (Waterbeach division)

“Your local Labour team have major concerns over the relocation of the Cambridge Wastewater Treatment Plant. Our view is that there was no sound ‘business case’ from Anglian Water for moving the plant. If there is an opportunity to reassess the case for relocating the plant, we would support that 100%.
Our greenbelt should be protected – and brownfield sites should always be prioritised for future housing developments. The roll-out of the Greater Cambridge Local Plan is moving at a fast pace and not always with the level of scrutiny we should expect as villagers. South Cambridgeshire District Council (SCDC) in particular have been waving through every development opportunity that comes along (in order to meet housing delivery targets that they have been falling behind on).
This is a big concern as it means the usual oversight and scrutiny is not happening.
As a County Councillor I wouldn’t have direct influence on the planning authorities (or the Combined Authority). But that would not stop me speaking out and challenging them on their approach (as I have done) – which in my view is too much, too fast and without the appropriate level of scrutiny.
As County Councillor I would also seek to minimise the impact of the relocation project (if it goes ahead) and demand that the next stage of consultation listens to villagers and offers real choices.”