Envar Composting Ltd , St Ives Road , Somersham , PE28 3BS

for the construction of a Dry Anaerobic Digestion (AD) facility, Pellet Fertiliser Facility, Healthcare Waste Recovery Facility, Waste Transfer Station, Vehicle Re-Fuelling Station, and a Biomass Fuel Storage Building, including surface water storage lagoons, extension to concrete pad, demolition of IVC buildings/tunnels and ancillary development. Summary of Recommendation: That the appeal be allowed, and planning permission granted subject to conditions. 1.0

Authority: Cambridgeshire County Council *
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Inquiry
Development: minerals-waste · Other Major Developments
Inspector: Shrigley M

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The landscape and visual effects on the locality, and whether any harm(s) arising are outweighed by any benefits in the associated overall planning balance.

What decided it

The substantial weight attributed to carbon saving benefits and moving waste up the waste hierarchy outweighed the significant landscape and visual harm from the chimney and conflict with the development plan.

Despite conflict with the development plan (significant landscape/visual harm and limited weight health perception harm), the material considerations—substantial weight carbon savings, substantial weight waste hierarchy benefits, moderate weight co-location efficiencies, significant weight job creation, limited weight BNG, and very limited weight odour reduction—collectively outweighed the harm, indicating permission should be granted.

Framework references: 11, 56, 135, 180

Plan policies cited: Policy 1 (MWLP), Policy 3 (MWLP), Policy 4 (MWLP), Policy 10 (MWLP), Policy 17 (MWLP), Policy 18 (MWLP), Policy 20 (MWLP), Policy 21 (MWLP), Policy 22 (MWLP), Policy 23 (MWLP), Policy 24 (MWLP), Policy 25 (MWLP), Appendix 3 (MWLP), LP2 (HLP), LP5 (HLP), LP10 (HLP), LP11 (HLP), LP12 (HLP), LP14 (HLP), LP15 (HLP), LP16 (HLP), LP17 (HLP), LP19 (HLP), LP29 (HLP), LP30 (HLP), LP31 (HLP), LP34 (HLP), LP35 (HLP), LP36 (HLP), LP37 (HLP)

Judgments cited: Cawrey; R (on the application of Cherkley Campaign Ltd) v Mole Valley DC [2014] EWCA Civ 567; Smith

Read the decision letter on the Inspectorate’s site

The main issues and the deciding factor are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.