Wisbech incinerator recommendation to be made to Secretary of State imminently

Opponents of the planned mega-incinerator for Wisbech are just weeks away from learning whether their campaign to stop it has been successful.

The Government's Planning Inspectorate has announced their recommendation on the proposed 54mega-watt waste burning facility well be made to the Secretary of State by November 21

The recommendation follows a six-month examination period led by the Planning Inspectorate’s inspector Andrew Pinto, during which campaigners, individuals and groups including Fenland District Council set out their opposition to the proposal and presented their case against it.

Medworth CHP Limited’s application for an Order Granting Development Consent for the Medworth Energy from Waste Combined Heat and Power Facility is considered a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) – because of the size of the scheme.

The decision on whether the application is approved will be based the inspectorate’s recommendation - an executive agency sponsored by central Government’s Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

This decision now rests with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

All levels of local government including the town and county council’s plus neighbouring West Norfolk Borough Council, registered their opposition to the plans. MP Steve Barclay has also been very vocal on his objections to the incinerator, which is given the go-ahead will be built on a site off Algores Way – just a stone’s throw away from local schools and businesses.

Campaign group WisWIn (Wisbech Without Incineration) led the public protest staging rallies, installing anti-incinerator banners and posters across the town and also making their case against the facility to the open hearings held at the Boathouse by Mr Pinto earlier this year.

A council spokesperson said: "Fenland District Council fundamentally oppose this incinerator application and we are utilising any and all legal avenues and processes available to continue to fight on behalf of the residents of Wisbech and Fenland as a whole.”

In February 2020, members of Fenland District Council wrote to the Energy Secretary making clear their opposition to plans to build an incinerator in Wisbech.

On July 7 2022, Medworth CHP Limited submitted an application for the development to the Planning Inspectorate.

A series of public hearings were held by the Planning Inspectorate throughout 2023, during which council representatives put forward technical arguments against the proposal.

More information on the application process and Fenland District Council’s opposition to the proposal can be found at www.fenland.gov.uk/wisbechincinerator