Biogas facility approved for Streetly Hall Farm near West Wickham despite 100 objections

A new biogas renewable energy facility will be built at a farm near West Wickham, despite more than 100 people lodging objections.

The anaerobic digestion plant is planned for Streetly Hall Farm, where the applicant said it will protect jobs and create renewable energy.

Cambridgeshire County Council’s planning committee approved the plans last Wednesday (17 July).

The new facility will take in between 60,000 to 75,000 tonnes of agricultural waste and energy crops a year, mostly from farms in the area, for anaerobic digestion, which creates biomethane and carbon dioxide.

The biomethane will be injected into the local gas network and the carbon dioxide transported for use in the food industry.

Applicant Chris Coby said the new facility was needed because the agricultural sector had faced a lot of “disruption” from the impact of Brexit and the war in Ukraine.

It will help his farm to be “more flexible and profitable” and may enable him to hire more people, he said.

The size of the plant has been reduced from the original proposal and Mr Coby said they had done the best they could to screen it, but more than 100 objections were recorded - including from South Cambridgeshire District Council’s planning department, which raised concerns about the plant’s impact on the rural landscape.

The British Horse Society and the Ramblers Association objected to plans for the new access road for HGVs to be built across part of a Roman road bridleway.

Six parish and town councils in the area also lodged objections.

Cllr Davis Sargeant, vice chairman at West Wickham Parish Council, was “disappointed” these had all been “dismissed” by the planning officer, who recommended approval.

Cllr Sargeant said safety concerns about the proposed new junction on to the A1307 were “at the heart of many local objections” from people who used the road daily and “saw the near misses”.

He noted that there were also concerns about the “sheer scale of this facility”, describing it as “industrial scale” in the countryside.

Cllr Sargeant recalled the applicant referencing a plan to create a community fund of around £10,000 a year as a form of compensation, but could not see that in the proposals.

Mr Coby said he was planning to donate £10,000 a year to a nursery in the area as a “targeted deployment of funds”.

Addressing concerns about the access road, planning officers said safety and ‘Give Way’ signs were proposed to give the bridleway users priority.

The county council’s transport officer had not objected and said while “it is never a great idea to put a new junction on a road like this”, it could not be stopped without good reason and the proposed junction had been assessed for safety.

Cllr Sebastian Kindersley (Lib Dem, Gamlingay) said a decision was “difficult”, noting it would be hard for the council to refuse the plans if concerns were not backed up by their own officer’s assessments.

He said he also had “sympathy” for the applicant and his effort to diversify the farm business in “extraordinarily difficult circumstances”.

Cllr Ian Gardener (Con, Alconbury and Kimbolton) said he understood the concerns but found nothing to “legitimately refuse the application”.

Cllr Steve Corney (Con, Warboys and the Stukeleys) said they may not like it, but felt there was no reason to go against the officer recommendation.

Councillors added a condition asking for a community forum to be organised to allow people to meet the applicant and officials to discuss any issues.

The committee voted unanimously to approve the plans.