Around the country there are a large number of incinerators that have received planning approval but have not been built. This is the case at:
- Shelton Road Incinerator (Covanta), Corby, Northamptonshire
- Pidley Waste Management Facility, Pidley, Cambs
- Energy Recovery Centre (J. Mould), Burghfield, Berkshire
- Portland Power Station (Powerfuel), Portland/Weymouth, Dorset
- Envar Composting Incinerator (Envar), Woodhurst, Cambs
- Swadlincote Energy Recovery Park, Swadlincote, Derbyshire.
The reason is that developers cannot secure the contracts for waste processing from local authorities if they do not have an incinerator already approved for planning. So they seek planning permission first and then look for the contracts for the waste. This is what has happened at Wisbech, with the Planning Inspector based in Bristol approving the scheme and now the developer seeking waste contracts from local authorities to make the build commercially viable.
A key potential client for the Wisbech incinerator is Cambridgeshire County Council. The developer can be expected to seek a waste contract with them as this is the nearest local authority to the site.
Stopping any such contract from Cambridgeshire County Council will therefore be an important blow to the developer, as they would then have to seek waste from further afield which would be less commercially attractive. This decision sits with county councillors on Cambridgeshire County Council who can choose to approve or reject a contract with this developer.
Preventing waste or increasing the cost of securing it to undermine the commercial viability of the Wisbech site is also why it matters that Wisbech Port is not given a permit to store large amounts of waste. The port is an alternative route by which the developer might seek to ship in the large volumes of waste. I have updated separately on the delayed decision from the Environment Agency regarding refusing a permit for Wisbech Port.
Following the local elections this year to the County Council, I wrote to every elected councillor on Cambridgeshire County Council. My letter outlined the serious dangers posed by the proposed Wisbech incinerator, shared the latest evidence of its environmental harm, and invited them to join our cross party campaign by signing a public pledge not to vote for or support waste going to a Wisbech incinerator..
The response has been encouraging, with many councillors stepping up to sign the pledge. You can view the growing list of signatories on my website: stevebarclay.net/campaigns/wisbechincinerator
Signatories include representatives from Labour, Reform UK, and the Conservatives, such as Cllr Alex Bulat (Labour), Cllr Colin Galbraith (Reform UK), and Cllr Chris Boden (Conservative), reflecting broad cross-party support. However, we still do not have a majority of councillors in order to block a contract being awarded by Cambridgeshire County Council to the Wisbech developer.
Over 30 environmental charities oppose the use of waste incinerators, which the BBC recently reported is the dirtiest way to produce energy. There is also a wide cross-party consensus in Parliament against burning plastic waste. This was shown recently in a Parliamentary debate led by the Labour MP for Derby South.
It is important locally that a clear majority of county councillors have signed to say Cambridgeshire County Council will not use the Wisbech Incinerator, so a clear message is sent to the developer regarding their business case. We can then lobby neighbouring local authorities to do the same.
The enclosed graphic shows which councillors have signed and which are sitting on the fence. Please email them and encourage them to sign up. This is a cross party campaign. Any councillor in Cambridgeshire who cares about Wisbech and Fenland, cares about the environment, and wants to avoid the impact of congestion from hundreds of lorries on local roads throughout the county, should sign up. 
