Representation by Diana Johnson
- Date submitted
- 11 July 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
In my view this is looking to use using pristine Green Belt, which exists for the benefit of us all in Cambridge, as a convenient place to get the sewage works out of the way so that the existing site becomes brownfield and can be developed for housing – for the financial benefit of Anglian Water and that arguments to the contrary are serving that core motive. There is no operational need for the sewage works to move; the current site was upgraded and future proofed back in 2015 at a cost of over £20 million. The proposed new works would not have increased capacity and it does not need a bigger site to cope with all the development around Cambridge, as many assume. The current site is big enough to build a parallel sewage works and then decommission the old one, if Anglian Water had to do that. Against that, Honey Hill is precious Green Belt which has an important role in preventing urban sprawl and protecting the setting of the historic city of Cambridge. It is high quality arable farmland that currently helps to feed us all, and the amount of land AW want to take is huge - bigger than Wembley Stadium. Geology and cost mean that the new sewage works can’t be underground and would be visible from the A14, north Cambridge, villages and walking paths for miles across the flat fens. I use, and for many years have used, the Honey Hill area for walks, cycling, and general recreation. Never more so than during the pandemic, when it became my – and others’ – vital open air space. We need to protect such places for our well-being.