Representation by Dr Sarah Beeson
- Date submitted
- 26 June 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
The proposed site of the CWWTPR at Honey Hill is in an entirely rural area surrounded on all sides by agricultural land. The Cambridge Green Belt Study (2012), which has informed the South Cambridgeshire Local Plan (2018), identifies the Honey Hill area as one of those areas of land in the Green Belt that are considered to be most critical in separating settlements within the immediate setting of Cambridge and should be afforded the greatest protection. Two such settlements, Horningsea and Fen Ditton, lie close to Honey Hill. The importance of these historic fen-edge settlements is recognised by the adoption of their Conservation Areas. The proposed site at Honey Hill is in an area that forms the south-western gateway to an unbroken fenland landscape with far reaching views towards Wicken Fen, itself a relatively new member of the European Rewilding Network and a World Heritage Site with a greater diversity of wildlife than elsewhere in Great Britain. The Wicken Fen Vision encompasses the whole broad tract of land from the A14 through Honey Hill to Wicken Fen. The aspiration of the Vision is to restore and protect this nationally important fenland environment so that it can be enjoyed by all. A big new sewage works, lit at night, with several tanks up to 26 m high would dominate the south-western gateway to the Vision and thereby completely destroy it. The whole planet, including our small patch around Cambridge, is suffering from a climate emergency. It behoves all of us to minimise all activities that add to global warming and only essential activities should be allowed. Anglian Water has admitted that the existing CWWTP at Milton does not need to be moved for present and future operational reasons. Anglian Water has not given a convincing case that the relocation is essential. Therefore, it should not be ‘relocated’ and should stay at Milton.