By an overwhelming majority the planning committee of Cambridgeshire County Council has rejected plans for an energy from waste plant at Waterbeach.

An all day meeting of the committee has within the past few minutes ditched their officers’ recommendation to approve the controversial scheme and vote decisively against it.

First to offer her congratulations was MP Lucy Frazer who tweeted: “Pleased to hear the Waterbeach incinerator has just been refused by Cambs County Council.”

And MP Heidi Allen tweeted: “It was the right decision to turn down the Waterbeach incinerator.”

Tory councillor Peter Topping, and the former leader of South Cambs District Council, tweeted: “I hear the impact on Denny Abbey would be quite something, and given that Waterbeach new town’s cultural heritage is part centred on the Abbey and the Farmland Museum that’s worth taking into account.”

Waterbeach and Milton Labour Group has been fervent critics of the proposal and described it as “a great result”. Their spokesman congratulated those campaigners who had fought to stop it happening.

South Cambs Lib Dems tweeted: “Delighted the #Waterbeach incinerator plans have been voted down. #LibDems Anna Bradnam and Sebastian Kindersley feared for impact on Denny Abbey, landscape and local residents. Only #Labour Cllr Whitehead voted for incinerator”.

A BBC journalist covering the debated reported a Waterbeach resident who “asked the council whether they want to be remembered for destroying the historic sight line between Cambridge and Ely Cathedral”,

There were fears for air pollution and worsening traffic if the new incinerator with an 80-metre-tall chimney got the go ahead.

Plans for a new waste incinerator at Levitt’s Field in the Waterbeach Waste Management Park in Waterbeach were recommended for approval, despite opposition from local residents and councils.

The proposed main building would have been 141 metres long and between 55 and 91 metres wide. It would also have an 80 metre high chimney.

Applicants Amey Cespa LTD says the proposed facility would treat up to 250,000 tonnes of waste a year.

But concerns were raised of pollution, increased traffic on the A10, and the harm it might cause to nearby historic buildings and the environment.