Representation by Steven Green
- Date submitted
- 17 July 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I am very concerned about the proposal to relocate the waste treatment plant from Milton to Fen Ditton, Horningsea and Quy. It appears the a huge amount of public money, hundreds of millions, is being spent moving the site (Milton) of this treatment plant when it appears unnecessary. My understanding is that the current site was recently renovated and will function sufficiently for many more years. Given the motivation is to free up the land on the current site for development, I would strongly encourage this application to be declined. If that is not the case then I feel it is essential that the finances for this site move be entirely provided by the private sector wanting to develop it, rather than the tax payer. Beyond this I have other concerns. I do not think we should be developing on the Green Belt. Cambridge is already expanding rapidly, from a construction and development perspective, in many other directions and the loss of part of the Green Belt sets a truly worrying precedent that development comes first and the environment second. As a local resident, I also worry about the increased traffic flow surrounding Fen Ditton Primary School and the odour that will be prevalent around the school. This would make the school more dangerous and less pleasant for students. In my view this new potential site is not a good choice of location for a water treatment plant and I think that the site location should be reviewed. Furthermore, the enormous amount of development work required will have a massive carbon footprint. Given the movement of the site is non essential this is an additional enormous cost that makes me think the project is not worthwhile. In brief summary, I feel this project is financially expensive, environmentally expensive and ultimately not required.