My family and I live in the small Georgian town of Wisbech and are strongly opposed to the proposal to build an incinerator in the town, 1 mile from our children's school and adding to the significant traffic problems that we already have. I look forward to receiving your answers to my questions below: Over what timescale do you expect to get to 50 megawatts? How much waste will this involve to deliver 50 megawatts? Over what timescale do they expect to get to 50 megawatts? How much waste will this involve to deliver 50 megawatts? Why is proximity to three schools and The Eye Clinic the best site given the volume of lorries, impact on air pollution, and odour concerns amongst others? Why did the developer ignore the planning inspector and issue this scoping report over the Christmas holiday period? Why has the developer failed to follow best practice in developing a proposal in consultation with the community, when consultation did not begin until Spring 2020 at which point Covid-19 hit? How many lorries a week will be required, and how far will they be travelling including from surrounding counties? Why is flood risk land suitable for a waste incinerator when the Environment Agency has raised concerns at house building on such land? What is the risk of contamination in the event of flooding? How would the incinerator plans impact on Wisbech Rail? What impact will the grid connection have on the local community, and is it part of the DCO? What land does the developer plan to compulsory purchase, on what basis, and from whom, in order to build an incinerator of the scale required for its designation as a national infrastructure project?

The proposed application by MWV Environment Ltd (the Applicant) is at the Pre-application stage of the Planning Act 2008 (PA2008) process. Therefore, the Planning Inspectorate is unable to consider representations about the merits of any application until it is accepted for Examination. The Planning Inspectorate also does not have the power to intervene in an Applicant’s pre-application programme. The process for applying for a Development Consent Order (DCO) is set out in the PA2008. The timing of the application’s programme is at the discretion of the Applicant. The Applicant is currently carrying out their first round of non-statutory consultation. Further rounds of consultation will take place and the Applicant will advertise these before they are due to commence. Therefore, I would encourage you to contact the Applicant directly with regard to your concerns. The Applicant has a statutory duty to have regard to all consultation responses received and this should be demonstrated in the Consultation Report which is part of their DCO application. However, if you feel your comments are not being taken into account, I would advise you to write to your local authority and set out why you think the Applicant is failing to conduct its consultation properly. Your comments should be taken into account when the local authority sends the Inspectorate its comments on whether the Applicant has fulfilled its consultation duties. The local authority’s comments on the Applicant’s consultation will be taken into account when the Acceptance Inspector makes their decision whether to accept the application for Examination. Should the DCO application be accepted by the Inspectorate for examination, the applicant has a duty to notify the local community when providing information on how to register as an Interested Party for the purpose of the process. The process under the PA2008 has been designed to allow members of the public and statutory stakeholders to participate in examination of all DCO applications so that anyone interested in the proposed developments, their potential impacts and any relevant matters can be fully engaged in the examination process. Once the examination begins, the Examining Authority will assess all information submitted in the application documents and will consider whether the Applicant has provided the necessary level of information. The Planning Inspectorate has produced several Advice Notes to help provide an overview of the PA2008 process and the opportunities to get involved. They are available at the following link: attachment 1 The following are particularly relevant: Advice Note 8: ‘Overview of the nationally significant infrastructure planning process for members of the public and others’. Advice Note 8.1: ‘Responding to the developer’s pre-application consultation’ Advice Note 8.2: ‘How to register to participate in an Examination’. Please be assured that anyone interested in the proposed developments, their potential impacts and any planning matters can be fully engaged in the examination process. A copy of your correspondence has been placed on our records and will be presented to the Inspector at acceptance together with the application documents and Local Authorities’ comments on the Applicant’s consultation. With regard to the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation, please refer to the Planning Inspectorate’s published guidance which will be updated as the situation develops. attachment 2 We have also published a Frequently Asked Questions document regarding Pre-application consultation and this can be viewed on our website here: attachment 3 Please note, in accordance with Section 51 of the PA2008, a summary of your query and our advice will be published on the project’s webpage of the National Infrastructure Website.