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.”

Letter to James Bull, Labour candidate for County Councillor

Email sent to James Bull, Labour Candidate for County Councillor in the upcoming local elections on May 6th 2021 – 

29.3.2021

Dear Mr Bull

I have just received the Labour News flyer promoting your election as County Councillor.  I am writing to let you know that you will not be getting my vote for the simple reason that you have completely ignored the single biggest threat my village of Horningsea is facing and that is the relocation of the Cambridge’s Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) to just outside our village boundary at Honey Hill.

How you could include Horningsea in your remit without referencing this devastating decision is incredible and I would welcome your comments on this point.

I would also be very pleased to receive your comments regarding the relocation project itself which as you will know is being driven by the NECAAP development.  Anglian Water (AW) have many times stated there is no operational need to move the plant; in fact back in 2015 the current site was upgraded at considerable expense to ‘future proof it for decades to come’.  AW have been very clear that the relocation is necessitated purely by the City and County Councils desire to develop the brownfield site for housing, retail and business space which means that Green Belt must be sacrificed.  In light of the huge shift in living and working habits as a result of Covid, there is a growing belief that this should be paused and reassessed.  I would argue that with all the other proposed development planned for the Cambridge area which includes Waterbeach Barracks, Six Mile Bottom, Cherry Hinton, Marleigh to name a few, our housing needs can be more than adequately satisfied without moving the sewage works.

Your flyer headline states ‘Wildlife haven is wrong site to build on” referring to Bannold Drove fields which are prone to flooding.  Well, Honey Hill is our wildlife haven and although it is not prone to flooding, it is located on a Principal Chalk Aquifer defined by DEFRA’s Magic Maps as High Risk to Groundwater Contamination.  AW have said on a number of occasions that cost and geology prevents the associated structures of a WWTP being sunk as they are at most other sewage plants – this is of huge concern to us on a visual level but also an environmental one.  Do you agree that this site is unsuitable for a Waste Water Treatment Plant?

Yours sincerely

Catherine Morris
Save Honey Hill Campaigner

Let’s see if I get a response!!