Nearly 3,000 people have signed a petition by protest group WisWIN calling for an end to tax breaks for firms such as MVV Ltd who plan a mega incinerator for Wisbech.

Their petition coincides with a ‘paint the town yellow’ plea ahead of a visit to the town by the Planning Inspectorate who will determine the application.

WisWIN co-ordinator Virginia Bucknor said when they do visit “we want to be ready for them”.

Her group is appealing for “everyone to either have a big banner outside or at least a poster in their window to Paint the Town Yellow.”

Steve Barclay, the MP for NE Cambs, said he would continue to campaign against the incinerator “and to highlight the material flaws in the proposal”.

He said he has received a letter from the Planning Inspectorate regarding his concerns that developer MVV “is not complying with the required consultation process in line with the points I have previously made.

“This is welcome clarification and I have written to Fenland District Council who I hope will now respond to the position set out by the planning inspector.”

He said the council’s view on whether MVV has fulfilled its statutory consultation duties is key.

It could shape the Planning Inspectorate’s decision on whether it accepts the application for examination.

Mr Barclay said the size of the project meant MVV would avoid a local planning decision.

He said MVV wants it to qualify as a nationally significant infrastructure project which is determined by the Planning Inspectorate process.

To enable that to happen, said Mr Barclay, the scheme needs to generate over 50 megawatts of power.

“That will mean bringing hundreds of thousands of tonnes of non-recyclable municipal and commercial and industrial waste to Wisbech,” he said.

“I have other concerns about the impacts on health, traffic, and the environment and will continue to fight against this unsuitable scheme.”

WisWIN says the incinerator would be one of the largest in the country.

“It would mean hundreds of lorries every day, seven days a week, transporting 650,000 tonnes of commercial and household waste to our town from all over the country,” says WisWIN.

“Wisbech has no dual carriageways or railway station.

“It would dominate the town and be built on a high-risk flood plain just meters from schools and housing.

You can sign the petition here