Campaigners 'elated' after digestion plant refused

Campaigners are "elated" after plans for an anaerobic digestion plant on farmland near a Suffolk town were refused.

Acorn Bioenergy wanted to build a complex that would turn manure and crops into renewable energy on land at Spring Grove Farm near Haverhill.

Developers said it would create jobs in the community and create enough energy to heat 7,000 homes, but the proposal received more than 1,000 objections.

During a development and regulation committee meeting at the Conservative-controlled Suffolk County Council, councillors rejected the application. Acorn Bioenergy has been contacted for comment.

Indy Wijenayaka, West Suffolk Council's Labour portfolio holder for growth and a spokesperson for the Muck Off Acorn campaign group, said it was "a fantastic moment".

"This is a massive relief for the community and we can now start to get on with our daily lives and not have a the spectre of one of the biggest anaerobic biodigesters hanging over us like a cloud," he said.

"I am absolutely elated."

When the plant was first proposed, more than 1,000 objections were raised, with residents lodging concerns about increased traffic and possible by-products from the site.

There were also fears the plant could eventually be used to dispose of food waste, after councils were told they must offer a food waste collection service by April 2026.

Developers defended the project, saying it would benefit the community and the wider county and also create organic fertiliser to be returned to farmers.

Alister Veitch, head of business development at Acorn Bioenergy, said the site would be "very well hidden" and be "very close to the A1307", suggesting traffic would have a lesser impact on local people.

But ahead of a meeting in which the plant was refused, planning officers raised concerns over the plant's proposed location.

They also said "insufficient information" had been provided regarding any impact on highway safety and the landscape.

Mark Bowman, a member of Muck Off Acorn, said he was thrilled the council threw out the plans.

"We are elated and it really endorses what we have been saying all along that this is a ridiculous application for that location," he said.

Joe Mason, Suffolk County Council member for Haverhill Cangle, also welcomed the ruling.

"This industrial-scale facility had no place near homes, the pre-school or our vital gateway into Haverhill," he said.

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