Representation by Elgood & sons ltd (Elgood & sons ltd)
- Date submitted
- 21 October 2022
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I am writing on behalf of Elgood & Sons Limited, the second oldest business in Cambridgeshire and owner of over forty properties in and around Wisbech including ten grade II listed buildings in Wisbech alone. The infrastructure of Wisbech does not lend itself to a project on this scale. When you factor in the regular closures of the A47 and A17 due to road traffic accidents, in addition to the lack of any motorway, dual carriageway or rail link, the extra HGV vehicular movements this is going to create makes the decision to locate here all the more incomprehensible. As advised by the WHO, best practice for siting incinerators has the goal of finding a location for the incinerator that minimizes potential risks to public health and the environment. It further advises “minimizing the number of people potentially exposed, e.g., areas near the incinerator should not be populated, containing housing, athletic fields, markets or other areas where people congregate. Areas near the incinerators should not be used for agriculture purposes.” So how many other sites were considered, and why was Wisbech deemed most appropriate? Waste incinerators are three times as likely to be situated in the most deprived and ethnically diverse areas of the UK. It is also hard to ignore that they have chosen to locate this on the county boundary, presumably all factored in to try and minimise opposition.