Cambridgeshire County Council has scheduled a planning committee meeting at 10am on 4 March 2026 to decide whether to approve a major expansion of waste processing at the former Saxon Brickworks site on Peterborough Road, Whittlesey.
Residents’ group Saxongate says the meeting has been called with remarkable haste given the volume of unresolved environmental and public health concerns, alongside ongoing investigations by regulatory authorities into aspects of the site’s waste handling and discharge arrangements.
The 4 March planning meeting comes just weeks after the Environment Agency granted a discharge permit allowing water from Saxon Pit lagoon to enter King’s Dyke.
Residents say the timing is especially concerning given ongoing regulatory investigations into site operations, including issues linked to flooding, waste handling, and water management.
They argue that the lagoon cannot be viewed in isolation from the adjacent incinerator bottom ash processing site.
Saxongate’s central concern is that incinerator bottom ash was excluded as a contamination pathway in the public health assessment, despite being the primary source material handled on site.
Middle Level Commissioners control the separate drainage consent required for any discharge into King’s Dyke.
In September 2025 they refused consent, stating they would consider a further application if an Environment Agency permit were granted. That consent is not guaranteed, and no approval from the Commissioners has yet been confirmed.
Crucially, Middle Level Commissioners are not a statutory consultee to the planning process. Residents argue this means the county council could determine the expansion application without the drainage consent being resolved.
Saxongate also point to documented flooding, rising water levels and instances of IBA stored outside designated containment areas, including containment breaches currently under investigation.
Regulators say there is no evidence of a contamination pathway.
Saxongate says it has not been directly tested.
A separate multi-agency public health study was presented as a comprehensive assessment of risk. Saxongate disputes that characterisation.
The group commissioned an independent review by Dr Andrew Rollinson, who concluded that incinerator bottom ash was excluded as a contamination pathway and that key site-specific contaminants were not tested.
Saxongate says those omissions undermine confidence in the reassurance being offered.
The group also argues that the volume of new technical material released in a short timeframe — alongside live permitting and enforcement matters — has left residents struggling to scrutinise complex information before the 4 March planning vote.
The lagoon and discharge permit relate to East Midlands Waste Management, while the proposed expansion concerns Johnsons Aggregates & Recycling Ltd’s incinerator bottom ash processing site.
Although the companies are separate operators, both activities take place within the same Saxon Pit complex, only yards apart, and now operate within adjoining areas of the same pit.
Saxongate argues that because the operations sit side by side within the same former quarry, decisions on drainage and expansion cannot realistically be treated as unrelated matters.
If approved, the proposed variation would increase permitted HGV movements from 92 per day to 332 per day.
“This proposal is reckless, premature, and packed with unanswered questions,” the Saxongate spokesperson said. “More lorries mean more pollution, more noise, and greater risk to residents and local ecosystems.”
Saxongate is urging local residents to engage before the decision is made.
The planning committee meeting is scheduled for 10.00am on 4 March at Alconbury. Residents are encouraged to watch the meeting online or attend in person if possible.
Those wishing to stay informed can join the Saxongate mailing list by emailing saxongate2022@gmail.com or by visiting the group’s Facebook page for updates and information.
