Representation by Hilary Bristow-Smith
- Date submitted
- 11 July 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
It is not appropriate to move urban works like a sewage works to a rural area on the greenbelt, which is situated within a flat view as the land is on the edge of the fens. The beauty of the area will be impacted by industrial, inappropriately high buildings in a flat landscape. The increased use of the road by trucks in a village which can be congested in the mornings and evenings by traffic at rush-hour, and when the A14 suffers accidents when cars cut through Ditton Lane and Clayhithe Road, is adding pollution and noise to a quiet village which is not acceptable. The land in question was historically common land owned by the people between Horningsea and Fen Ditton, and it raises questions as to why that principle has been ignored. The area was populated by the Romans in the Roman times and where I live the ground is full of Roman pottery and I suspect the projected land for sewage is also of archaeological importance as well as of environmental importance. Currently homes on Clayhithe Road are not connected to mains sewage and all have septic tanks. Nothing has been said about a change to this so clearly the sewage works is not to be of benefit to homes nearby so why would it be acceptable considering there is bound to be a smell issue? The smell will drift over the whole village. In winter there are strong winds which move across the whole village because of the flat landscape. No-one has considered the risk to Horningsea in the event of war as it would become a target for bombers because of having infrastructure by it and all residents in Horningsea then potential victims where they are currently safe with no reason for an enemy to bomb them. The lack of concern and consideration for villagers and country life is shown with a preference for big money and development and disregard for the way english life has been conducted over centuries with this proposal. The birdlife and wildlife of the area will be impacted. Currently it is wide and diverse with species returning year after year to a rural area. Building will force species away, many never to return. Horningsea is not a suburb of Cambridge. It is a village and the unnecessary removal of works from a site which is not being used to maximum capacity to another in the countryside - which has implications to wild life, history, archaeology, green belt, villagers, traffic complications, danger of air attack- is wholly unacceptable when the current site is already perfectly well sited and under used. I strongly disagree with the proposal which has ridden roughshod over all objections at every stage. It is particularly ironic given I do not, nor have had any sewage for the last 30 years having to use a septic tank. At no point has anyone ever expressed any concerns over my lack of mains sewage so I can see right though this suggestion to move to Horningsea - it has nothing to do with any benefit to the immediate area and residents and everything to do with developers, commercialism and profit.