Examiners make recommendation over new Cambridge sewage works

Examiners have now made a recommendation to the Secretary of State on whether the new sewage works for Cambridge should be built.

But what they have said on the Development Consent Order (DCO) application has not yet been made public - and will not be known until a final decision is made, within the next three months.

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 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.

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

During a six-month examination process, objectors questioned why green belt land should be “sacrificed” in order to build the new sewage works.

Some campaigners have spent four years fighting the plans to build the plant on their doorstep, even recording and releasing protest songs to highlight their campaign.

After the decision is announced there will be a six-week period where people can challenge it in the High Court through a judicial review.