Overview
On 20 February 2024, the Secretary of State for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero made the decision to grant consent to the Development Consent Order Application (DCO) by Medworth CHP Ltd for the Medworth Energy from Waste Combined Heat and Power Facility (also known as the Wisbech Incinerator).
On 29 May 2024, The Environment Agency approved and issued the Environmental Permit for Medworth CHP Limited to operate their EfW CHP Facility once constructed and commissioned. Details of Medworth CHP Ltd’s proposals are available on their website.
Further information, including the Secretary of State’s decision letter, the Planning Inspectorate's (PINs) recommendation report, the DCO, and related legal agreements can all be found on the Planning Inspectorate’s webpage for this project.
Discharge of requirements
Medworth CHP Ltd has started to apply to discharge the requirements which are the DCO equivalent of planning conditions, The requirements and process for discharge are set out in the DCO, along with the key consultees.
The requirements relate to technical submissions only, many of which build on the detail of the outline schemes, which were scrutinised by Cambridgeshire County Council’s technical officers and other interested parties during the DCO examination, ahead of the Secretary of State’s decision to grant permission for the development.
Consultees will vary depending on the specific requirement but for example will include: the Lead Local Flood Authority, County Ecology, Fenland District Council and the Environment Agency.
As these are technical submissions, there is no public consultation as part of this process. Nonetheless, we will be updating this webpage as and when requirements are discharged (agreed).
When the requirements have been discharged, the developer will publish the approved schemes and related documents on their website for Medworth CHP Ltd.
The documents will also be available to view on our public access planning webpages. To find, enter the keyword 'Medworth' into the search field and click Search button.
As of 12 March 2025, the following requirements have been discharged:
- Requirement 21: Employment and Skills Strategy
- Requirement 27: Local Air Quality Monitoring Strategy
- Requirement 26: Air Safety (Parts 1 and 2)
- Requirement 24: Community Liaison Manager
Section 106 Status
The Section 106 legal agreement (S106), which was agreed as part of the DCO, states that Cambridgeshire County Council will receive £400,000 from the developer, to be shared with Norfolk County Council as the relevant Local Highways Authorities.
The fund will be used to improve the Public Rights of Way (PROW) and routes for Non-Motorised Users (NMU) in our counties. Cambridgeshire will receive 75% of the total because the facility will be within our County and so it will have a greater impact on the PROWs and routes for NMU in our area.
The S106 legal agreement dictates that the money be spent to improve the PROW and NMUs in Wisbech, Wisbech St Mary and Elm in Cambridgeshire and Emneth in Norfolk.
The project is in its early stages and so details of how the money will be spent have not been finalised. To help make the decisions on how the PROW and NMU improvements will be delivered, we intend to engage with the relevant parish councils and local councillors (covering both Cambridgeshire County Council and Fenland District Council) about what priorities they would like to be considered for their local area.
Further information
Details of the financial contribution and the obligations for the Council, including what the money will be used for were discussed at the public examination of Development Consent Order (DCO) of this Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project by the Planning Inspectorate and are a matter of public record.
Payment details are covered in this specific S106 legal agreement (opens as pdf).
Section 111 Community Fund Status
The Section 111 agreement was discussed at the public examination of the DCO of this Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) by the Planning Inspectorate and is a matter of public record. It was voluntarily agreed by the developer.
View and read draft agreement (opens as pdf)
The fund is intended to promote, enhance, improve, protect and conserve the natural environment and promote health and wellbeing in the area.
The Medworth Community Interest Organisation (Schedule 1(2.1) of the Section 111 Agreement) document has been published on MVV Medworth CHP Ltd’s project webpage and can be found and downloaded on the documents page.
Background
For further details of this NSIP project, including all the documentation submitted as part of the examination, please visit the Planning Inspectorate’s website.
Details of Medworth CHP Ltd’s proposals are available on their website.
Throughout the Examination period, Cambridgeshire County Council, jointly with Fenland District Council, submitted responses as required by the Planning Inspectorate, including a
- Local Impact Report (opens as a .pdf)
- Written Representation (opens as a .pdf)
- Final Position Statement (opens as a .pdf)
All submissions can be found in the Examination Document Library (Planning Inspectorate website)
The Examination closed on 21 August 2023. The Examining Authority had three months following the end of examination to write its summary report and make a recommendation to the Secretary of State. This report was issued to the Secretary of State on 21 November 2023, and the Secretary of State granted the application consent on 20 February 2024.
