The newly-elected Huntingdon MP, Ben Obese-Jecty, quizzed Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner in the House of Commons yesterday (July 30).

It was confirmed on Monday, July 29 that the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Angela Rayner, had approved the planning application for the Envar Composting incinerator to be built in Woodhurst, near St Ives.

The decision was met with devastation from the protest group, People Opposing Woodhurst Incinerator (POWI), who have campaigned against the plans. 

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Yesterday in the House of Commons, Huntingdon MP Ben Obese-Jecty questioned Angela Rayner on the Government's decision to approve the plans.

He asked: "Given NHS England’s 2023 Clinical Waste Strategy states the need to 'reduce the use of incineration' and details a strategic priority that 'requires in-house waste processing capability' to be developed, why has the Secretary of State approved a medical waste incinerator against local wishes?"

Angela Rayner responded: "When making those decisions we weigh up the advice and the planning expertise that we have in there and those decisions will be based upon that evidence that we have, it’s an objective way of making a decision."

The Huntingdon MP called on the objections to the plans at a local level, naming, "Conservatives and Labour on Cambridgeshire County Council, local residents in St Ives, as well as the impacted rural villages of Somersham, Bluntisham, Colne, Pidley, Woodhurst, Old Hurst and Needingworth", as those affected by the plans.

Mr Obese-Jecty also asked the Deputy Prime Minister if she would meet with local Huntingdonshire residents to hear their concerns about the approval. Ms Rayner did not respond to his request.