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No thank-you - we don't want your incinerator here




This week saw the start of the laborious planning process aimed at deciding whether or not Fenland will become home to the country's largest waste incinerator.

Local leaders, business people, residents and even a GP all spoke up against the planned monstrosity, which could see pollutants pumped into the air over Wisbech and blown on the wind to other areas.

MVV the firm behind the proposed 54 mega watt incinerator insist there are no health risks associated with the waste burner - but it doesn't take a genius to realise that if you are putting out carcinogenic particles - however small they might be - into the atmosphere they have got to have some affect on anyone breathing them in or ingesting them through local produce.

Campaigners against the incinerator outside stood outside the Wisbech Boathouse in silent protest at the start of the planning protest.
Campaigners against the incinerator outside stood outside the Wisbech Boathouse in silent protest at the start of the planning protest.

The developer also doesn't believe that having nearly 300 lorry movements in and out of Wisbech a day will have any impact on local roads - have their representatives driven around the area in the three years since they first muted the incinerator idea?

Because surely if they have they would know full well - as anybody who lives in Fenland does - the roads are already horrendous at peak times, and even worse if there is an incident.

Closure of the A47 between Wisbech and Guyhirn because of a traffic incident can prove a nightmare for drivers caught up in the tailbacks caused.

The Fenland Citizen is standing side by side the community in the fight against the Wisbech incinerator. (62618248)
The Fenland Citizen is standing side by side the community in the fight against the Wisbech incinerator. (62618248)

More lorries cluttering our roads are going to make it even harder to get about particularly during times when farmers are busy and their tractors are also on the highways.

Flooding concerns mean the developer is having to raise the base of the proposed building, which in turn means its two chimneys will loom even higher over our landscape. We can all see Ely Cathedral standing out in the distance from various vantage points - well the incinerator is going to be taller than that.

At least the cathedral is a beautiful building and does not belch out, who knows what into the air we breath.

There appears to be no end in sight for the war in Ukraine.
There appears to be no end in sight for the war in Ukraine.

One protester made an excellent point at one of the public forums when she pointed out that we have not actually seen any scaled models to illustrate just how this building will look in our landscape. Instead the imagery provided shows the incinerator from a distance and makes it look slightly insignificant.

A ploy no doubt to try to fool people into thinking it's not that bad - but as the saying goes you can fool some of the people some of the time but all of the people none of the time.

We are not fooled by the imagery, the assurances on our health and roads or indeed the promise of jobs that have been provided or made by MVV.

Russian president Vladimir Putin (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik/Kremlin Pool Photo/AP).
Russian president Vladimir Putin (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik/Kremlin Pool Photo/AP).

Fenland may be an area of deprivation, with Wisbech among the worst affected, but we are not stupid and as demonstrated by the lack of support at any of the meetings this week, we are utterly united in fighting this monolith.

It's not wanted, it's not needed and like everyone else I truly hope the planning inspector makes the right decision and agrees this incinerator should not be built anywhere near our small Georgian town.

It's a definite no from us...

It is now a year since we woke to the news Russia had invaded Ukraine and essentially war had broken out once more in Europe.

Vladimir Putin's assumption that his foe would simply fold within a week or two proved naively optimistic and so the war rumbles on.

The human cost on both sides is mounting with tens of thousands dead including 7,000 Ukranian civilians. For us in the west the war is affecting our lives only with the lack of certain products on shelves and increasing costs of fuel and energy.

We are not having to face the heartbreak of losing a loved one in a conflict dreamt up by a man who appears to give not one jot about anyone or anything.

The stark reality of this dreadful anniversary is that there seems to be absolutely no end in sight for this war.

Instead there is a perpetual threat that it will spiral and before long Europe and the world at large will be once again at war too and more frightening still nuclear weapons are used.

Shortages of products is a small price to pay as the brave Ukranians take up arms and offer their lives in the quest to keep their country free.

It is hard not to admire every single man, woman and child who is enduring the hardships of conflict day after day and pray that their fortitude and commitment will see off the enemy and Europe, the US and other allies can all breathe a collective sigh of relief and owe Ukraine a debt of gratitude for single handedly standing up to one of the world's biggest bully boys.



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