Cambridgeshire County Council has said it will be "robustly defending" its opposition to plans for a new waste treatment centre in one of Huntingdonshire's villages.

The company behind the proposal, Envar Composting, has appealed the council’s decision to refuse planning permission for the plant at Somersham Road, Woodhurst, and a public inquiry is due to take place.

Members of the council's planning committee voted against permission for changes at the site back in April 2023, after hearing from local residents, councillors and business owners. 

Concerns were raised about the effect on the landscape of the proposed 26m chimney and the perceived health and wellbeing impact of the incineration on the wider community.

Chair of the planning committee, Cllr Henry Batchelor said: “The council will be robustly defending its decision at the planning inquiry. In planning you need to strike a balance and in this case the committee believed the adverse impacts outweighed the benefits. 

“The committee had particular concerns about the visual impact of the tall chimney on the surrounding landscape and our planners are working to understand the full effects on neighbouring farms and other businesses.” 

Envar wants to transform a former mushroom farm, which it owns, and create a dry anaerobic digester, biomass storage building, pellet fertilizer facility and associated infrastructure. 

The Hunts Post: Councillors and protestors met outside Shire Hall in 2023 to show their opposition to the Envar plan.Councillors and protestors met outside Shire Hall in 2023 to show their opposition to the Envar plan. (Image: New)

The appeal will be examined by the Planning Inspectorate, the authority that deal with planning appeals nationally. 

The eight-day inquiry, which starts on February 20, will be run by a planning inspector and will be held at the Red Kite Room at New Shire Hall, Alconbury. 

The council’s ‘Statement of Case’, which outlines its defence of the appeal was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate last month. More details will be released ahead of the inquiry. 

Documents detailing Envar's appeal and the council’s defence can be found on the CCC website. Use the reference CCC/21/088/FUL and searching for the prefix APPL.

There has been much opposition locally to the plan. North West Cambridgeshire MP Shailesh Vara MP, Cllr Steve Criswell of Huntingdonshire District Council and Ben Obese-Jecty, prospective Conservative parliamentary candidate for the new Huntingdon constituency, met with local residents last year to show support.

The nearby Raptor Foundation, which is located close to the Envar site in Woodhurst, is also opposed to the plans.

A group called People Opposing Woodhurst Incinerator (POWI) was also set up to fight the plans. Thousands of local people also signed a petition.

Lorna Watkins, from the group, has previously told The Hunts Post: "We shouldn't have to expend time, energy and money fighting off climate damaging incinerators, linked to air pollution and greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide.

"New ones are now banned from Scotland & Wales? Shouldn't they be banned in England too?"

Envar has described the plans as a "truly innovative concept".

The company has stated the plant will feature the UK’s first large scale Dry AD plant which takes in green and food waste combined, producing "top quality compost as well as biogas that is fed into the National Grid or used as vehicle fuel".