Land-sale embargo is vital in fight against Wisbech incinerator says councillor as another calls for veto on decision

A leading Fenland councillor has defended a decision not to sell land the council owns in Wisbech close to the proposed incinerator site for at least six months.

The defence comes after an independent councillor accused colleagues of being ‘blinkered’ following a decision last week to put a six months embargo on the sale of council-owned land in the Algores Way area of the town.

Manea Councillor Charlie Marks believes a motion past at Fenland’s full council meeting brought by Councillor Steve Tierney, as a means of blocking plans to build a mega-incinerator in the town, will stymy business growth and stop new jobs being created.

But Councillor Sam Hoy is adamant it is the only way to safe-guard Fenland-owned land not being sold to any developers and eventually ending up

In a leaked email Coun Marks talks about problems being faced by a Wisbech firm, which is looking to expand and has been in negotiation with Fenland Council to buy some of its land for the past three years.

He claims the firm, which is being represented by the same agent as MVV Environment Ltd, the firm behind the incinerator plans, could even end up relocating out of the district to area’s such as King’s Lynn, which are offering incentives to firms.

As a result Coun Marks is calling on Fenland’s leader Councillor Chris Boden to intervene and veto the motion to enable the company to expand as it hopes.

He believes putting a strict covenant on the land could answer fears held by many Wisbech councillors that Fenland land could end up in the hands of MVV Environment Ltd.

Councillor Sam Hoy, who is named in Coun Marks’ email, said she was firstly disappointed the email had been leaked and secondly she felt it was wrong for a councillor who does not live in Wisbech to get involved, and accused him of trying to force the council’s hand.

She defended the council’s decision and said whilst the council has no control over what other land owners in the vicinity of the incinerator’s proposed site might do, Fenland can control what happens to its own land.

She said that Fenland has pledged to do nothing to aid MVV building its 54 mega watt waste burner in the town, and keeping a tight grip on land surrounding the proposed site will help keep that promise.

In the email there is reference to the firm having the potential to use waste from the incinerator, which Coun Hoy commented would “put a ‘big tick’ in the environment box for the Government’s planning inspectorate when it makes a decision on the plans”.

She said: “We don’t want to give MVV any positive ammunition when it comes to getting approval for their incinerator. The embargo on selling council-owned land is for six months and is there to prevent it falling into any developers’ hands, who could then resell it.”

And she added: “Covenants can be put in place, and while it’s a complicated process, they can also be broken.”

However, Coun Marks said: “I firmly believe that covenants are the best way to do the job of preventing council land going to MVV, while at the same time supporting businesses to either come to Wisbech in the first place, or to expand. That’s why I’m asking the council leader to intervene.”

A spokesman for the firm involved said: “We are looking to make a £1.5million investment here in Wisbech, we have been in negotiation with the council for over three years, and then we find out that they have passed this motion. It is very frustrating, especially as no-one from the council spoke to us prior to the decision.

“We are more than happy to meet any councillors to discuss our plans, and we are willing to sign any covenant and agree to any conditions they would like to put on that land forbidding future sale to any party related to the incinerator.

“We just want to expand and grow our business and create up to 10 to 15 new jobs in the process. We do not need to rely on bi-products from the incinerator for that expansion and I want to make it clear, we have no affiliation or connection with MVV Environment Ltd.”