A very tall chimney on the A505 - on a flightpath?

This is about preserving a key part of our aviation heritage versus progress in energy efficient waste treatment. So there isn't a simple answer. 

The Pet Crematorium / Vetspeed plant on the A505 at Thriplow Heath specialises in disposing of  waste that requires careful handling. It deals with some 18,000 tonnes a year. Now the company want to move to a process which obtains energy from waste, rather than just incinerating it. The process is known as Advanced Conversion Technology (ACT) and involves heating in an oxygen free environment to obtain a gas and a charcoal residue which in turn provides energy. 

The challenge is understanding the emissions from this process, and the increase in lorry traffic on the A505 as the plant takes on more waste up to a maximum of 30,000 tonnes a year.

Additionally, the ACT process requires a tall chimney, 25 metres or 80 feet high, to replace the current  tallest chimney of some ten metres. And that is where the airfield at Duxford comes in, because the new chimney would be directly on the flight path into the Imperial War Museum runway, as the pic shows, with Vetspeed front left and Duxford back right.

I've spoken to both parties, and the parish council at Thriplow, and seen the impact on flying into Duxford for myself. I am consulting local residents especially in Heathfield and I will attend a presentation in September of the County planning committee. 

There will be public consultation meetings in the autumn, which I will make sure are arranged.