If Envar’s proposal for an incinerator at Woodhurst to burn hazardous medical waste does not produce toxic emissions, then why does it need a 26-metre high chimney to spew the emissions so far and wide?

If the emissions were safe and green as they claim, then why is Envar not happy to bask and breathe in these gases on their own site and perhaps even open a health spa?

Everyone who lives in Woodhurst, Somersham, Bluntisham, Colne, St Ives, Earith and Needingworth should be very, very worried about this application for many reasons.

I congratulate People Opposed to Woodhurst Incinerator (POWI) for their campaign to alert residents to this proposal.

I live in Somersham, which would be directly in the path of emissions from the proposed medical waste incinerator. How do I know this?

A while back, Envar had a fire that raged on that site for weeks and I could smell the smoke from my garden and inside my home.

That means tiny particles of toxic chemicals, potentially including dioxins, that could possibly be emitted from the new 26-metre high chimney, could also find their way into my home, my lungs and the lungs of thousands of other local residents.

There is also a children’s day care nursery close to the Envar site.
The location of this proposed incinerator is also totally unsuitable due to serious road safety concerns.

The four-way Wheatsheaf junction and access to the site is a notorious accident blackspot which has seen numerous fatalities and serious injuries from road traffic accidents over decades.

Adding more HGVs bringing hazardous medical waste to the road infrastructure at this busy junction and around St Ives and other villages is both potentially dangerous with regard to possible RTAs and creates yet more air pollution from increased vehicle emissions.

There would also be increased light pollution in a rural location from the 26 metre high chimney being lit up at night for aircraft, causing an eyesore on a high point of the Heath.

I understand local fruit and livestock farmers close to the site, as well as the Raptor Centre, are extremely concerned by the proposal.

I buy free-range eggs from the nearby farm and I would be worried about toxic particles potentially entering the food chain.

The site is totally unsuitable for this proposal to incinerate hazardous medical waste.

However, residents can only object to the county council on material grounds, such as increased traffic congestion.

Apparently the Environment Agency and Public Health England are responsible for permissions based on issues such as emissions.

The county council site will not publish how many public comments/objections have already been made until the Environment Agency and Public Health consultation is complete. So don’t be put off and think no one cares!

I urge anyone concerned with this application to visit the Cambridgeshire County Council planning portal on its web site to see the proposals and register any objections they may have.

The POWI social media group is fighting these plans and you can add your voice to the campaign.


Lorna Watkins
Somersham