Special circumstances ‘do not exist’ to justify approval of Cambridge sewage works in green belt, examiners say

Examiners said there was “not a convincing case” to justify building the new Cambridge sewage works, which has now been approved.

They said the project would harm the green belt and highlighted that Anglian Water had confirmed the existing plant had capacity and could be expanded.

The examiners recommended that permission for the controversial project should be withheld.

However, the relocation was approved by Steve Reed, the Secretary of State for environment, food and rural affairs, who said he disagreed with the examiners and argued there was justification for the project.

The new Cambridge Waste Water Treatment Plant will be built on land to the north of the A14 between Horningsea and Fen Ditton, known as Honey Hill.

The plant will replace the existing sewage works in the north east of the city, in order for the land it sits on to be redeveloped as part of the wider North East Cambridge development.

Overall the North East Cambridge development could see around 8,000 new homes and new commercial buildings built on the edge of the city.

The sewage works site itself is proposed to be part of the Hartree development where developers have been working on plans to build more than 5,000 homes.

The government has committed £277million to the project to build the new sewage works, with the overall cost estimated to be around £400million.

The plans for the new sewage works have been met with backlash from people in the area. During the six-month examination process objections questioned why green belt land should be “sacrificed” in order to build the new sewage works.

The recommendation made by the examining authority has now been published.

The examiners said there was “not a convincing case” for the Development Consent Order (DCO) to be granted and recommended that it should not be approved.

They highlighted that the benefits of the redevelopment of the existing site to build new homes was not part of the DCO application itself.

The examiners pointed out that there are currently no approved plans to redevelop the existing sewage works and said they could not ‘pre-judge’ the outcome of any planning application submitted by a third party.

They therefore said that the sewage works development proposed by Anglian Water would not directly deliver the benefits the company had attached significant weight to.

The report said: “Rather it would result in a vacated site which would have to be cleared and prepared for development.

“The DCO does not include any mechanism to ensure this, or that the subsequent redevelopment of the site would take place.”

The examiners also highlighted that Anglian Water had confirmed that the proposed relocation of the plant was “not due to an operational need or requirement for greater capacity”.

The report said there is capacity at the existing plant, including for the development at Waterbeach New Town and committed growth within the Cambridge drainage catchment.

It also stated that Anglian Water had confirmed that the existing site is capable of being upgraded to provide additional waste water treatment capacity.

The report said: “Whilst it is intended for the proposed waste water treatment plant to eventually treat waste water from Waterbeach New Town, the examining authority considers that, given existing and potential capacity at the existing waste water treatment plant, this matter does not demonstrate a compelling need for the proposed development or fully justify the principle for it.”

The examiners said the development would also harm the green belt.

The report said: “The examining authority has found that the applicant’s need for and principle of the proposed development has not been adequately justified in either infrastructure or wider policy terms.

“The examining authority has also found that, on this basis, the harm which would arise to designated and non-designated heritage assets as a result of the proposed development would not be outweighed by any public benefits.

“In addition, the examining authority has further found that the harm to the green belt which would arise from the proposed development, and other harms identified would not be clearly outweighed by other considerations.

“Consequently, the examining authority considers that very special circumstances do not exist to justify the approval of inappropriate development in the green belt.

“Accordingly, the examining authority takes the view that the proposed development would fail to accord with relevant policy.”

The examiners did recognise that the Secretary of State may come to a different conclusion on whether the development was justified.

In his letter, Mr Reed said he did disagree with the examiners on the point and argued the development was justified.

The letter said: “The Secretary of State considers that the relocation of the existing waste water treatment plant will unlock a long-held ambition to redevelop North East Cambridge and enable the delivery of thousands of new homes and new jobs in a highly sustainable location development has been frustrated for decades by the presence of the existing waste water treatment plant.

“Approval of development consent is consistent with the government’s objective of significantly boosting the supply of homes and consistent with the achievement of sustainable development.”