The Welney Website

Proposed Tipps End SewageWorks

page created & first posted 10th Oct 2007; updated Tuesday, 19 February 2008

February 14th update: The plans below have been dropped; The EA have confirmed that the AWS have withdrawn their application. We understand that a new site for the Works has been chosen in the region of grid ref 500954, 1¼ miles further west, with the treated effluent being taken westwards via existing field drains into the Sixteen Foot Drain near Bedlam Bridge. Whilst this is good news for many residents of Tipps End, a few may still find the proposals invasive.

Anglian Water Services are planning to construct a Sewage Treatment Works on the north side of the Old Croft River at Tipps End.

This special report is a personal one by the Welney Webmaster, Peter Cox, a resident of Tipps End.

I have tried to bring together as much information and as many facts as I and other residents have been able to establish to allow residents to come to their own conclusions. Any views expressed are entirely my own (unless clearly stated otherwise) and do not necessarily represent those of any group or other individuals.  If I have failed to be totally impartial it is probably because I am not overjoyed at the prospect of having a four acre sewage works, for the benefit of other people miles away, thrust into the open landscape just 500 yards from home.

Articles on this page

• The proposed scheme

• Details of the possible Treatment Works

• The Action Group

• Residents concerns

• Who knew about it but didn't tell us.

• Extracts from the minutes of the Welney Parish Council

You can also see the responses from organisations I asked to comment on any consultations made to them.

• Natural England

• Kings Lynn & West Norfolk BC

• Norfolk CC

To see a map of the area showing the proposed discharge point and the approx site of the works click here.

Photos of the site - now and maybe?

An amusing earlier article about Tipps end with photos of some of the properties can be seen here.

This webpage will be expanded regularly over the coming days and weeks to provide more information, maps, reports and comment.

If you have anything to say about the proposal, for or against, please e-mail me and I will post it here.

I welcome comments from all local authorities.

The general public in Tipps End and Lakes End, on both sides of the county/borough/parish borders were unaware of the proposal until an eagle-eyed Tipps End resident spotted a small Public Notice in the "Fenland Citizen". It was issued by the Environment Agency (EA) advising that Anglian Water Services Ltd (AWS) had applied for consent to discharge treated sewage effluent into the Old Croft River.

Many residents are aware that a first-time-sewerage scheme for Welney and Christchurch has been talked about since at least 2001, and some may have heard that works were due to start in 2008; but the proposed location of the treatment works had not been made generally known. I believe many assumed it would be in the vast open space to the north-west of Tipps End.

For the record, the recent chronology is:

14th Aug - date of the application by AWS to discharge treated effluent into the Old Croft River.

20th Aug - application received by the EA.

21st Aug - the Clerk to Welney Parish Council (WPC) reported her conversation with the AWS land-agent, Mr Dick Prescott of Savills. (see below, under Extracts of Minutes of WPC).

12th Sept - date of a Public Notice issued by the EA

19th Sept - Public notice appeared in the Fenland Citizen. Any "representations"  to be received by EA by 31st Oct

21st Sept - a small group of concerned residents formed an "Action Group" and began making enquiries.

 2nd Oct - Action Group put their concerns to the Welney Parish Council during public participation at a WPC monthly meeting. They asked if the Council knew about the proposal. I understand that the Group were shocked at the extreme rudeness of one Councillor and generally rather disappointed by the reactions of the Chairman and Clerk. The Council did eventually agree to put the matter on the agenda for their November meeting but that will not be until after the deadline for representations to the EA. There is some confusion about the exact date of the Council's November - see below.

 8th Oct - Action Group held an open meeting in Welney Parish Hall attended by 60 residents of Tipps End and Lakes End. There were apologies for absence from several others.

11th Oct - Action Group met AWS & EA officials at Tipps End to discuss the application, preferred treatment scheme & view the proposed sites.

15th Oct - Action Group second public meeting at Welney Parish Hall with speakers from AWS and the EA. 70 people attended.

23rd Oct - One resident reports that the level of Old Croft has risen considerably, and another reports a machine working near the proposed discharge point. Strange?

31st Oct - deadline for receipt of representations about the AWS application to the EA in Brampton.

next meeting of Welney Parish Council? I've been getting confused about this, but it seems I'm not the only one. The action Group believe it will be on Tuesday 7th Nov. The Council's recent flyer states it will be on Wednesday 7th. Do they mean Wednesday 8th, or Tuesday 7th?.

The application is to "discharge treated sewage effluent" from the proposed "Welney and Christchurch STW, Norfolk, PE14 9PQ"  into the Old Croft River at grid reference TL 5127 9521, at the following volumes & flow rates

• up to 613 m³/d (cubic metres per day)

• dry weather flow of discharge(s): 236 m³/d

• average daily flow: 295 m³/d

• maximum rate of discharge(s): 7.1 l/s (litres per second).

The proposed works are to serve a "combined population of 1,048 people" in Welney and Christchurch.

Anglian Water Service's "preferred treatment solution" is an "Aero-Fac" lagoon system which AWS says is environmentally sustainable, wind powered, has low odour, and produces reduced quantities of sludge.

The application to the EA is also to assess the viability of using this technology at this site or whether another type of treatment should be provided. (I understand that phosphate content would be an important factor).

The full application can be seen by contacting members of the Action Group (see right)

For more information contact one of the following:

• Ann Wood (tel: 638545)

• Christine Smith (tel: 638006)

As you can see above, the group took their concerns to the Welney Parish Council. The attitude of the Council led the Group to decide to pursue the matter further themselves.

The Group therefore invited officers from AWS and EA to meet them at  Tipps End on Friday 11th October.

Mr Adam Basham for the EA explained the legal and consultation processes involved. Mr John  Falcon (?), for AWS described their legal responsibility to provide sewerage for Welney & Christchurch, and the process they had gone through to find suitable land that was available to them. Both answered a variety of questions. The officers then took the Group to see where the discharge point and Treatment Works would be if consent and planning permission were granted. The condition of the Old Croft River (stagnant and static) was noted. See photos.

The officers also kindly agreed to attend the second public meeting convened by the Group, to be held on Monday 15th October at 8pm in Welney Parish Hall.

The Action Group are very grateful to the officers concerned for their time and courtesy.

Many concerns were raised by those attending the Action Group's find public meeting on Monday 8th October 2007.

Some of those will probably be raised again at the next meeting, and I hope to post a report in due course.

With regard to the discharge application, some doubted that the Old Croft River has the ability to efficiently disperse large volumes of treated effluent. The river is little more than a stagnant ditch. Flow is virtually nil. The forecast discharge of nearly 100 gallons a minute is likely to stir up years of accumulated stinking sludge that could move back and forth along the river creating a foul stench.

One or two thought the river would be scoured clean as a result of the extra input, but as the river doesn't flow much even after heavy rains most felt that was unlikely.

With regard to the Treatment Works, there are the obvious worries about smell, visual impact on open countryside, and the possible adverse affect on house prices.

Overall, there was a great deal of anger about the apparent lack of consultation.

Some felt that the Welney Parish Council or some of its members must have been aware of the proposal and wondered why did they not bring this to our attention and seek our views.

Further down this page are extracts from the Councils minutes showing that the Council have discussed the Sewerage scheme on many occasions, but there is nothing to suggest they were aware of the proposed treatment site.

A little more about the scheme

Rosemary Pratt, Assistant Consents Planner for AWS said “We believe the advantages of the Aerated lagoon system are as follows:

• It is typical of the irrigation lagoons presently used by Agriculture in the rural environment.

• From our perspective, it offers a best local environmental solution taking into account Visual Impact, minimum power, minimum vehicle visits etc.

• This system is a water sealed system and therefore has no odour.

• There are very small blowers and therefore noise is minimal.

• The lagoon banks blend into the rural landscape.”

John Falcon from AWS told the Action Group that this scheme is at an "early stage", and the type of works and location are not confirmed. Full plans would not be drawn up until and unless the EA give consent.

AWS would then have to apply for planning permission at which time further objections could be made. They are nevertheless fairly confident that work will start in late spring/early summer of 2008.

I understand that if it does go ahead the nearest homes would be only 400 m (metres) from the works. The AWS officer said that he considered that was a generous distance compared with many other plants, and that there is no legal minimum distance.

He told the Group that there would be two rectangular lagoons each 40m x 80m (43 yds by 87 yds), about 4m (13 ft) deep, with 2 m below and 2 m above ground level.

That would mean the combined surface area of the two lagoons would be just over 1½ acres, and the whole site could be 3 to 4 acres.

On the equipment suppliers website are details of the floating wind-powered aerators used in this type of scheme. They rise nearly 3m above water level, so the tops would be 5 m (over 16ft) above ground level. The manufacturers claim that the design "requires a minimum wind-speed of 4-5 mph 65-75% of the time to solve water problems". When back-up electric motors are used, I understand that noise levels would be about 40 decibels.

You can learn much more about the Aero-Fac lagoon system from the the manufacturers own literature:  sales brochure, aeration units, and  design guidelines.

Its difficult to say, depends how you define "affected", how effective the treatment plant is at suppressing ordours, and how landscaping may soften the visual impact.

I estimate that in Tipps End several homes will only be about 220m (240 yards) from the discharge point, 20 homes would be within 500 yards of it, and 56 within half a mile.

In addition there are the properties at Lakes End, and along the A1101 Wisbech Road from Welney House to Lakes End.

I understand that the Action Group asked Welney Parish Council on 2nd October 2007 if they knew about the proposed sites of discharge and works but apparently they did not.

I also understand that a spokesperson for our local MP Christopher Fraser, said that Mr Fraser was aware of the scheme through his contact with the Council, but I don't know if he knew the exact details.

The land owner, Norfolk County Council (NCC) knew because they have apparently indicated they would sell the land to AWS.

One would have thought that some of the following would have known officially or heard about the project from their contacts long before AWS submitted their application to the EA.

• The farmer who rents the land from the NCC.

• The Welney Parish Council

• The Kings Lynn & West Norfolk Borough Council

• The Upwell Internal Drainage Board (whose area includes the Old Croft River).

Some members of the Drainage board are also on the District Council (and one is concerned with planning), another is Chairman of the Welney Parish Council and also farms the land.

Yet it seems that none of those good folk had the slightest inkling of what was planned because if they had, surely they would have shared the information with those they represent?

Extracts from minutes of the Welney Parish Council (unedited except for font/typeface and line spacing)

(I have diligently copied and pasted the following extracts of the Council's published minutes for meetings held since January 2006, but readers should contact the Parish Clerk to verify their accuracy)

2006

12th April 2006, under "Correspondence"

"Comment Note from Mrs. P. Rix - 1. Any progress with Mains Sewerage for the Village. Agreed to make enquiries of the Borough Council. 2. Current state of the Croft River. The Chairman explained the situation regarding water flow from the Internal Drainage Board point of view, and suggested that possibly a meeting with the I.D.B. would be useful. He advised that he would speak to the person concerned to see if this could be arranged."

9th May 2006,  under "Matters Arising"

 "3.  Mains Sewage - Following Mrs. Rix’s enquiry at the last meeting, the clerk had contacted the Borough Council for an update.  Nothing had been heard and a further request for information would be made."

13th Sept 2006, under "Correspondence"

 "12.        Fiona Sarson of Savilles – Re First Time Sewage for Welney.  Letter circulated to Councillors regarding a request she had received from Anglian Water to commence negotiations for the purchase of land for the Treatment Works in the Village.  She had approached two land owners who were not interested in selling, and asked Council if they could recommend alternative sites.  After discussion it was proposed by Cllr.Allen, seconded by Cllr.Jones and unanimously agreed that we reply to Miss Sarson and ask for a meeting in the village with her or Anglian Water so that we can obtain more information before we recommend any possible sites,"

11th October 2006, under "Matters Arising"

"4.  Mains Sewer for Welney – Following the last meeting the Clerk had written to Mrs. Sarson at Savilles asking if a site meeting could be arranged so that the Council could obtain more information before considering recommendation of any sites suitable for Treatment Works. Despite two letters and a telephone call, nothing had been heard. The Clerk agreed to try and make contact as soon as possible"

7th November 2006, under "Matters Arising"

"Mains Sewer for Welney –.The clerk confirmed that she had received a letter from Mr. Dick Prescott of Savilles at Huntingdon who has taken over the file from Mrs. Fiona Sarson. Mr. Prescott had sent a copy of a plan to all landowners in the area asking if they would mark any land which they owned. The Clerk had telephoned to say we did not own any land and he went on to explain that Anglian Water are proposing to carry out a joint scheme with Welney and Christchurch and are looking to put a Vacuum Pumping Station at Welney, one at Christchurch and one about half way between, with a pipe linking the two villages. He is currently in communication with the Borough Council regarding an area on the field off Chestnut Avenue which could be suitable for the Pumping Station, but this is at a very early stage. If all goes well Anglian Water are hoping to start the scheme in the summer of 2008 but Mr. Prescott has promised to keep us fully informed. There followed a lengthy discussion regarding this matter, and it was agreed to include a note in the Welney News but that nothing further could be done until we heard again from Savills."

13th Dec 2006, under "Matters Arising"

"3.        Mains Sewer for Welney – The Clerk confirmed that details had been included in the last issue of the Welney News.  Nothing further had been heard but Council were advised that we should receive more information in due course when the Agents are in a position to contact us again."

2007

The only references to the sewerage scheme that I have been able to find in the WPC minutes from Jan to Aug 2007 are:

9th July 2007, under "Items for Agenda at next meting"

"3.  Update on Mains Sewage situation."

21st Aug 2007, under "Matters Arising"

"3. First Time Sewage for Welney – The Clerk confirmed that she had spoken to Dick Prescott at Savilles on 15th August and he had advised as follows: The scheme is well progressed and it is hoped that it will be started next Spring/Summer 2006. He is hopeful that it will be April. Anglian Water are the in process of trying to purchase an area of land in Christchurch and a piece of land in the field off Chestnut Avenue for the installation of vacuum pumping stations and these purchases are well advanced.. It will consist of a brick building a little larger than a garden shed containing a vacuum pump which will take the waste material into a well and pump it off to the treatment works., The building will be fenced to keep it safe and surrounded by trees. There will be no smell or anything visible. They are also hoping to purchase an area of land between Christchurch and Welney for the installation of the Treatment Works, He promised to keep us fully informed of developments and a possible start date in due course."

Note: The minutes for the meeting on 2nd Oct 2007 will not be available until a few days after the meeting on 1st November 2007

(request sent 9th Oct, statement received 10th Oct)

Thank you for your email, which has been forwarded to myself as the Conservation Officer covering this area at the moment. This is a subject which a number of residents at Tipps End have contacted us about with their concerns. Whilst the Environment Agency (EA) is primarily dealing with this case (and I would advise contacting Adam Basham at the EA for further details), it is correct that Natural England were consulted by the EA as to our views on the Discharge License.

Natural England's primary responsibility with cases such as these, is to ensure that designated sites and protected species are not impacted as a result of a proposal.  Our involvement with this case has been fairly limited so far, in that we have had a consultation from the EA asking for comments on a discharge license. We had no objection to the discharge license in principle, as we had assurances that there is no pathway for any treated effluent to affect the hydrology of the Ouse Washes SSSI/SPA from this point, and as such an Appropriate Assessment under Regulation 48 of the EU Habitat Regulations was not required.

This is only one step in the proceedings, and any development at this site will be subject to a number of other issues being resolved. Any proposals for a sewerage treatment works will require planning permission, and as such it will be at this stage where we will make sure that all ecological considerations are fully addressed, and local residents will have the opportunity to comment on the suitability of this site. Our response will be based on an assessment of the potential impact on protected species, such as water voles or badgers that we believe to be in the area, or how the proposals will retain any important habitats.

Our advice will be passed on to the relevant local planning authority who have a duty to take it into consideration. Any scheme at this site should only be able to progress if the local planning authority is satisfied that these issues have been fully addressed, and that there will not be a negative impact to notable wildlife in the area as a result of the proposals. I hope that this is sufficient for your website at present. We thank you and the local residents for making us aware of this case, and will of course be ensuring that wildlife issues are fully addressed

Regards, Justin Tilley, Natural England

My e-mail sent at 08:33 on 10th Oct 2007

No response so far

(1) Autoreply, 10 Oct 2007: "Thank you for your enquiry which has been received by Norfolk County Council.
We aim to respond to your email within three working days in line with our Customer Care Standards which can be viewed on our website www.norfolk.gov.uk"

(2) "Your message To: Information
Subject: Proposed sewage treatment works in Welney
Sent: Wed, 10 Oct 2007 08:43:49 +0100
was read by Amanda Jack on Wed, 10 Oct 2007 11:07:55 +0100"

No further response so far