Cambridgeshire’s leading councillor for planning has spoken of his dismay over the Secretary of State’s approval for a new healthcare waste incinerator at Woodhurst.
The council had refused the scheme by Envar Composting in April 2023 but a subsequent appeal overturned that decision. It was then referred to the Minister for a final ruling.
Minister of State, Matthew Pennycook MP, on behalf of the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, has now backed the inspector’s decision and allowed the scheme.
Chair of Cambridgeshire County Council’s planning committee Cllr 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.”
Details of the application and decision can be seen at https://planning.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=QV5TVBDYLCD00
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