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Campaigners ‘disappointed’ at Cambridge sewage works decision postponement




Campaigners have called the postponement of a decision on whether the new Cambridge sewage works can be built “disappointing”.

The government has delayed the decision for a second time on whether the city’s existing sewage works should be moved to green belt land between Fen Ditton and Horningsea.

Save Honey Hill - Consultation at the Barnwell Centre, Margaret Starkie seated with others opposed to the development of the new waste water treatment plant site. Picture: Keith Heppell
Save Honey Hill - Consultation at the Barnwell Centre, Margaret Starkie seated with others opposed to the development of the new waste water treatment plant site. Picture: Keith Heppell

A decision had been due by Sunday, January 12, but Steve Reed, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, has pushed back the decision until Monday, 14 April.

Mr Reed said the application for the new sewage works needed to be considered under updated planning policies.

Save Honey Hill campaigners have been working to prevent the relocation for four years.

CGI of Anglian Water proposed water treaatment plant . Picture: Keith Heppell
CGI of Anglian Water proposed water treaatment plant . Picture: Keith Heppell

Chair Margaret Stakie said: “This is disappointing but we hope this will give the secretary of state sufficient time to recognise that the relocation is unnecessary as Cambridge is able to meet its housing target without building on the vacated site. We have shown that even the new method of calculating housing need as set out in the new National Planning Policy Framework can be met by both the adopted 2018 and the emerging Local Plans for Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire.”

However, the group is “pleased” that the secretary of state is “considering his decision so carefully” and has extended an invitation to Mr Reed to visit the proposed site and “see the contribution it makes to the purposes of the Green Belt”.

The government has already committed £277million for the relocation of the Cambridge Waste Water Treatment Plant in the north east of the city to a new site on land north of the A14 between Horningsea and Fen Ditton, known as Honey Hill. The overall cost is projected to be around £400m.

The move is designed to enable the North East Cambridge development on the existing sewage works, which would be home to about 8,000 homes and new commercial buildings.

Anglian Water's existing waste water treatment works in north Cambridge
Anglian Water's existing waste water treatment works in north Cambridge

The plans for the new sewage works, put forward by Anglian Water, have been met by a sustained backlash from residents.

The campaigners add the project is “a poor use of limited resources in handing over £277m to a private company. There is no evidence that the high-rise, high density housing planned for the vacated site would be achieved quickly or at reasonable market prices, while the loss of valuable agricultural land at a time of food insecurity is clear.”

A decision on whether the project to relocate the Cambridge Waste Water Treatment Plant could go ahead was first due to be issued in October last year.

This deadline was extended to 12 January by Mr Reed to give officials more time to “conduct further consultation on emerging planning policy and analysis of responses to the consultation”.

Anglian Water applied for a Development Consent Order (DCO) to ask for permission to build the new sewage works.

The Planning Inspectorate has issued a recommendation following a public inquiry, but this has not been made public and will not be published until the secretary of state has made a decision.

In a statement issued on Monday (13 January), Mr Reed said: “This government has committed to rebuilding Britain, delivering 1.5 million new homes along with the critical infrastructure that underpins economic growth.

“As set out in the Plan for Change, we will deliver housing in the right places, supporting our towns and cities to grow, and providing the homes people want near to businesses and employment opportunities.

“This government is therefore committed to growth and has promised to take tough decisions to get Britain building.

“One of our first actions was therefore to revise the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which was formalised on December 12, 2024.

“This marks the next step in radically reforming the planning system to meet the needs of the country and made major changes to the rules around the green belt.

“It is therefore right that the application is now properly analysed with consideration given to the government’s updated policies.

“This statement confirms that it is necessary to extend the deadline for the secretary of state’s decision on the application by Anglian Water under the Planning Act 2008, for the Cambridge Waste Water Treatment Plant Relocation Project Development Consent Order (DCO).”

The decision to extend the deadline was made “without prejudice to the decision on whether to grant or refuse development consent”.

Additional reporting: Local Democracy Reporter Hannah Brown.



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