Comments Form

I object to the application to construct and operate an anaerobic digestion facility on the land north of Spring Grove Farm and the associated lagoon site on land north east of Cadge's Wood. The lagoon site is in close proximity to West Wickham and surrounding villages. I object to the application for the following reasons: Current Policy Suffolk Minerals & Waste Plan (adopted in 2020) Policies WP3 and WP7 do not support this application as the site is neither used for existing waste management, industry or distribution; it is not brownfield land; it is not within or adjacent to agricultural buildings, or integrated with a water treatment plant. Location: The site is within 200 metres and too close to a number of residential properties primarily blocks of flats, the Flying Shuttle pub and the Haverhill Research Park located across the road from the site area. The proposal represents an industrial plant to be constructed in a tranquil rural setting thus destroying the essential character of the green space and farmland presently enjoyed. Impact on business Haverhill Vision 2031(adopted by St Edmundbury Borough Council in 2014) identifies 12 hectares of land at Hanchet End as a strategic employment site in Policy HV10. This policy zones this land for technology, research and light industrial employment, aiming to bring high quality jobs to Haverhill. Haverhill Research Park and the Landmark Epicentre innovation centre is only 200m from the plant site boundary. Other businesses will also be affected including the Flying Shuttle public house and Sainsbury's Supermarket. The visual appearance of this site, its noise and odour will be hugely detrimental to attracting customers to Sainsbury's and employers to the area. No prestigious employer is going to want to site their office overlooking such an unattractive set of structures with the well documented risk of unpleasant odours. Odour: Whilst the proposal hopes to comply with Government benchmarks, the odour will reach and be smelt by residents opposite and employees in the Haverhill Research Park. This will cause nuisance to all (eg making it impossible to open windows, sit in the pub garden, hang out washing etc) and in some cases become a health hazard particularly to the vulnerable and those known to have breathing problems. This will prejudicially impact the quality of life of local residents in the area. Noise: Whilst the noise output from the plant is hoped to be below the Government benchmark, the immediate proximity of local residents and the employees of the Haverhill Research Park means constant noise from the plant, particularly in a prevailing wind. It will prejudice the well being of the residents and their enjoyment of the relative tranquillity of the area. Noise created by vehicles entering and exiting the plant will similarly impact residents and thus prejudice their quality of life. Access and Egress: It is proposed that access and egress to the site will be from the A1307 with two-way traffic and a 50mph speed limit. Plant transport (HGVs, slow moving tractors with trailers and other vehicles) coming from Haverhill turning right into the access road will have to turn across on-coming traffic. Similarly, plant transport egressing the access road wanting to turn right toward Cambridge will have to turn across on coming traffic. Given the stated plant capacity, this will occur at least 40 times a day, 6 days a week. South Cambs District Council's current plan for the A1307 is to make the road safer, evidenced by the work currently being undertaken to block any right turn (north and south) at the Dean Road Crossing. This is in addition to the creation of a roundabout and other safety measures in progress at the Bartlow junction toward Linton. The proposed plant access and egress road will increase traffic on the A1307 is not commensurate with the South Cambs DC'S policy for the A1307. It will cause traffic delays, congestion and pollution and will significantly increase the risk of accidents on a road already designated a High Casualty Route. Output from plant: It is proposed that methane gas emitted by the plant be captured in storage tanks and then either piped or transported by road tanker. Connection by pipe requires governmental permission both as to general access to the main pipe and as to the times and amount of gas that can be piped into the system by the plant at any one time. The biogas produced may require further chemical processes beyond that comprised by the proposal before it is of a chemical compound acceptable to be piped into the main gas pipe. Currently there is no guarantee any of these permissions will be given. The implication is that all methane gas or some gas from time to time (as may be imposed by the main gas pipeline) may have to be transported off site by road tanker (in liquid or gas form) using the access road, thus adding to the number and regularity of vehicles and further increasing the A1307 risks mentioned above. Once the digestate has been processed and split into its two constituents, the resulting liquid and solid digestate will be similarly transported off site, further increasing vehicular traffic using both the access road and the A1307. Again, this will also further increase the risks mentioned above Loss of amenity The presence of a large scale waste processing facility represents a significant loss of residential amenity to residents of Haverhill, especially those in the Hanchet End area. The visual, noise, traffic, odour and pollution impacts are all detrimental to those close to this facility. The substantial change in the character of the area from technology and research based high value employment, modern homes and leisure facilities, to a large scale facility for processing farm waste on a prominent approach into Haverhill is detrimental to the amenity of the town in general. The storage of large amounts of flammable gas carries inherent risks incompatible with being close to residential and commercial development. I object to this application being in such close proximity to Haverhill, neighbouring villages such as West Wickham and other surrounding villages which would place the environment and the wellbeing of large numbers of people at risk.

Application number
Name
Address	Walnut Tree Cottage 41a Streetly End West Wickham CB21 4RP
Type of Comment
Comments	I object to the application to construct and operate an anaerobic digestion facility on the land north of Spring Grove Farm and the associated lagoon site on land north east of Cadge's Wood. The lagoon site is in close proximity to West Wickham and surrounding villages. I object to the application for the following reasons: Current Policy Suffolk Minerals & Waste Plan (adopted in 2020) Policies WP3 and WP7 do not support this application as the site is neither used for existing waste management, industry or distribution; it is not brownfield land; it is not within or adjacent to agricultural buildings, or integrated with a water treatment plant. Location: The site is within 200 metres and too close to a number of residential properties primarily blocks of flats, the Flying Shuttle pub and the Haverhill Research Park located across the road from the site area. The proposal represents an industrial plant to be constructed in a tranquil rural setting thus destroying the essential character of the green space and farmland presently enjoyed. Impact on business Haverhill Vision 2031(adopted by St Edmundbury Borough Council in 2014) identifies 12 hectares of land at Hanchet End as a strategic employment site in Policy HV10. This policy zones this land for technology, research and light industrial employment, aiming to bring high quality jobs to Haverhill. Haverhill Research Park and the Landmark Epicentre innovation centre is only 200m from the plant site boundary. Other businesses will also be affected including the Flying Shuttle public house and Sainsbury's Supermarket. The visual appearance of this site, its noise and odour will be hugely detrimental to attracting customers to Sainsbury's and employers to the area. No prestigious employer is going to want to site their office overlooking such an unattractive set of structures with the well documented risk of unpleasant odours. Odour: Whilst the proposal hopes to comply with Government benchmarks, the odour will reach and be smelt by residents opposite and employees in the Haverhill Research Park. This will cause nuisance to all (eg making it impossible to open windows, sit in the pub garden, hang out washing etc) and in some cases become a health hazard particularly to the vulnerable and those known to have breathing problems. This will prejudicially impact the quality of life of local residents in the area. Noise: Whilst the noise output from the plant is hoped to be below the Government benchmark, the immediate proximity of local residents and the employees of the Haverhill Research Park means constant noise from the plant, particularly in a prevailing wind. It will prejudice the well being of the residents and their enjoyment of the relative tranquillity of the area. Noise created by vehicles entering and exiting the plant will similarly impact residents and thus prejudice their quality of life. Access and Egress: It is proposed that access and egress to the site will be from the A1307 with two-way traffic and a 50mph speed limit. Plant transport (HGVs, slow moving tractors with trailers and other vehicles) coming from Haverhill turning right into the access road will have to turn across on-coming traffic. Similarly, plant transport egressing the access road wanting to turn right toward Cambridge will have to turn across on coming traffic. Given the stated plant capacity, this will occur at least 40 times a day, 6 days a week. South Cambs District Council's current plan for the A1307 is to make the road safer, evidenced by the work currently being undertaken to block any right turn (north and south) at the Dean Road Crossing. This is in addition to the creation of a roundabout and other safety measures in progress at the Bartlow junction toward Linton. The proposed plant access and egress road will increase traffic on the A1307 is not commensurate with the South Cambs DC'S policy for the A1307. It will cause traffic delays, congestion and pollution and will significantly increase the risk of accidents on a road already designated a High Casualty Route. Output from plant: It is proposed that methane gas emitted by the plant be captured in storage tanks and then either piped or transported by road tanker. Connection by pipe requires governmental permission both as to general access to the main pipe and as to the times and amount of gas that can be piped into the system by the plant at any one time. The biogas produced may require further chemical processes beyond that comprised by the proposal before it is of a chemical compound acceptable to be piped into the main gas pipe. Currently there is no guarantee any of these permissions will be given. The implication is that all methane gas or some gas from time to time (as may be imposed by the main gas pipeline) may have to be transported off site by road tanker (in liquid or gas form) using the access road, thus adding to the number and regularity of vehicles and further increasing the A1307 risks mentioned above. Once the digestate has been processed and split into its two constituents, the resulting liquid and solid digestate will be similarly transported off site, further increasing vehicular traffic using both the access road and the A1307. Again, this will also further increase the risks mentioned above Loss of amenity The presence of a large scale waste processing facility represents a significant loss of residential amenity to residents of Haverhill, especially those in the Hanchet End area. The visual, noise, traffic, odour and pollution impacts are all detrimental to those close to this facility. The substantial change in the character of the area from technology and research based high value employment, modern homes and leisure facilities, to a large scale facility for processing farm waste on a prominent approach into Haverhill is detrimental to the amenity of the town in general. The storage of large amounts of flammable gas carries inherent risks incompatible with being close to residential and commercial development. I object to this application being in such close proximity to Haverhill, neighbouring villages such as West Wickham and other surrounding villages which would place the environment and the wellbeing of large numbers of people at risk.
Received
Attachments

Comment for planning application SCC/0045/23SE