Campaign group starts new petition in hope to get debate in parliament as ‘last resort’ to stop Wisbech incinerator

A new petition is the “last resort” for a group of campaigners trying to put a stop to the construction of one of Europe's largest incinerators.

Campaigners fighting a mega-incinerator in Wisbech have started the petition in the hope of getting 100,000 signatures so it can be taken to the House of Commons to be debated as a last resort.

So far, the petition has had just over 13,000 signatures, but it needs tens of thousands more in the hope of gaining its target before early September.

Teresa Wood, who is a member of the campaign group ‘Wisbech Without Incineration’, said the petition is specifically for a debate in parliament.

She said so many campaigners all over the country have signed the petition and are supporting it because lots of MPs are against it.

Just before the 2024 general election, the Conservative government at the time gave permission for the incinerator. However, Teresa says the new Tory manifesto said they would ban all incinerators.

So in her views, the only way to be able to get a debate in parliament is by gaining a high backing from the community and further afield, which will raise the issue higher up the current Government's agenda.

Teresa said: “Unfortunately, it is our last resort because we have tried and tried to get ministers to raise the issues about Wisbech.

“This incinerator will be one of the largest in Europe. It is two 93-metre chimneys, so you will be able to see it for miles. It will be taller than Ely Cathedral.

“We have no dual carriageway and they want to bring 200-plus vehicles every day in.

“People can put anything in it. The company running it, MDV, has just had a fire in their Plymouth incinerator, which is much smaller – it's half the size of Wisbech.”

She said not only will it impact children, but there is a food factory adjacent to the proposed incinerator as well as soft fruit farms in the area, which pollutants could go into.

As well as these, she mentioned that Wisbech has a high level of people with asthma as the area is below sea level. She thinks this will become even worse with the chemicals they will burn coming out of the chimneys.

“So it never made sense to me from day one. Why they would choose Wisbech, as we don't have the transport or road infrastructure here, and we are surrounded by food factories and farms which supply 25% of this country's food”, she added.

“The impact will be enormous.”

Teresa is asking for the public's support in signing the petition, which “will mean the world to everyone”. The petition can be found at https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/710486