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Woodhurst incinerator granted planning permission

30 July 2024

County Councillors have joined with residents and representatives across Cambridgeshire to express their disappointment that the proposal for a new healthcare waste incinerator has been approved by the Secretary of State at Woodhurst.

The planning application for the incinerator and other development was refused by the Council’s Planning Committee in April 2023 and an appeal was lodged by Envar Composting Ltd against the Council’s decision with the Planning Inspectorate, the national organisation that can review local planning decisions.

Although the Council robustly defended its decision at the eight-day public inquiry that took place earlier this year, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government has today (29 July 2024) decided to grant permission for the expansion of the Envar site.

Chair of Cambridgeshire County Council’s Planning Committee, Councillor Henry Batchelor said:

“Whilst the Council always recognised that this was a finely balanced decision, with the refusal being made by five votes to four, we are nonetheless still disappointed that the new Secretary of State has overturned the Committee’s decision.

“We appreciate that despite the applicant’s request for an award of costs against us, this has not been granted by the Secretary of State. We have acted openly and conscientiously in our review of the company’s application to expand the Envar site. We believe we made a reasonable decision in refusing the developer’s application and in robustly defending our decision at the public inquiry.

“The strength of public feeling and serious concerns about these proposals were clearly articulated as part of the eight-day public inquiry, and the Council did all it could to defend the decision it made.”

More information, including the Planning Inspector’s report and the Secretary of State’s decision letter (which includes the conditions attached to the permission), can be found on the Council’s public access planning webpages Simple Search (cambridgeshire.gov.uk) using the planning reference CCC/21/088/FUL.