An update on proposals for Meridian Biogas
November 2025: A planning application was submitted in June this year by Meridian Biogas Ltd seeking permission for an anaerobic digestion plant just to the north of the A505 near Thriplow. The carbon neutral facility would produce sustainable biogas while also capturing CO2 and supporting local farmers in and around South Cambridgeshire
The proposed access arrangements for both HGVs and smaller vehicles included a new ghost island on the A505 for vehicles travelling from the direction of the M11, and a new auxiliary lane for vehicles travelling from the direction of Royston.
Priority would have remained with existing traffic, meaning little if any disruption to existing road users once the new infrastructure had been put in place.
The principle of the access arrangements was agreed with the Highway Authority at the pre-application stage, but during the processing of the submitted planning application, it was deemed by the authority not to be appropriate.
As a result, we have engaged closely with the Highway Authority and are actively investigating alternative proposals to gain access to the site from the A505. It is clear that any likely alternative arrangements would mean changes to the planning application boundary (the “red line”) and so the current application needs to be formally withdrawn and a new one submitted on the basis that an acceptable access solution is found.
We have therefore written to the South Cambridgeshire District Council, the Local Planning Authority, to request that the planning application reference 25/02177/FUL is withdrawn.
Meridian Biogas
The material on this website replicates that which was available at a public consultation event in Thriplow, South Cambridgeshire, on Friday, 7th June 2024.
November 2024: The proposals for the Meridian Biogas facility have been updated, with a new site proposed slightly further east along the A505.
This move was in direct response to a technical consultation with the Environment Agency relating to underlying geology and groundwater characteristics.
The National Transmission System (NTS) gas pipeline runs through the new site, which is why it is a little larger than the previous site. This does make connection slightly easier.
The main access off the A505 remains at the originally proposed location. No additional traffic is proposed on Gravel Pit Hill.
Work on the design is progressing well and we would hope that a planning application will be submitted early in 2025.
We are keeping the project email address, enquiries@meridianbiogas.com, and phone number, 01763 877161, available.
A plan of the changes is below:
About us
Meridian Biogas is a wholly owned subsidiary of Future Biogas, one of the largest and most experienced operators of biogas plants in the UK.
Since 2010 Future Biogas has developed and built 12 biogas sites as in-house projects and in addition we manage and operate plants developed by third parties.
Future Biogas works with over 400 farmers, producing sustainable energy crops as part of their rotations. Growing energy crops provides local farming communities with diversification opportunities and supports the rural economy.
Towards a renewable future
The use of more and more “home-grown” renewable energy will not only help in the fight against climate change, it will also help to reduce the country’s reliance on overseas sources of energy.
Scientific evidence shows that climate change is a danger to us all, wherever we may live, and that it is a significant threat to British agriculture and our food security.
Traditionally, Britain relied on coal, which was abundant, as the source for all electricity and gas. In the 1970s, North Sea gas replaced this coal gas in the nation’s cookers, boilers and factories.
Although cleaner than coal, North Sea gas, which is methane, still produces carbon emissions which contribute to climate change. In the 1990s, gas was increasingly used to generate electricity.
Today, much of the gas we use is imported from our neighbours in the North Sea, and even from as far afield as the USA and until recently, Russia.
Big strides have been taken in generating more and more electricity from renewable sources such as solar farms and offshore wind.
Future Biogas is helping to decarbonise the nation’s gas supply by producing net zero biogas which is pumped directly into the network that supplies the country’s needs.
To fuel this gas production, Future Biogas partners with local farmers to grow energy crops as part of sustainable food rotations and incentivising the decarbonisation of agriculture.
We are also committed, through our Project Carbon Harvest initiative, to capturing and permanently storing atmospheric CO₂, a major contributor to climate change.
What is biogas?
Like the North Sea gas most people are used to, biogas is simply methane, so it can be pumped directly into the existing gas network.
But unlike North Sea and similar fossil fuel gasses, Biogas can be created using crops such as maize or rye, which are easily grown in the UK.
To create this new gas supply, Future Biogas does not use waste material such as manure, only crops grown locally, especially for the proposed facility.
Because it is not a fossil fuel, biogas does not release additional carbon dioxide (CO₂), which is a leading cause of climate change, into the atmosphere.
Instead, the CO2 that occurs as a byproduct of biogas production is that which has been absorbed from the atmosphere by the crops used in the process as they grow.
The process used is called anaerobic digestion. This process creates:
• Biomethane - which is pumped directly into the gas network.
• CO₂ - which is captured and permanently stored.
• Biofertiliser - which is returned to the soil to help new crops grow.
Biogas, like the North Sea gas used in many homes, is colourless and odourless, and in itself, non-toxic. The smell people get when lighting a gas hob, for instance, is actually a harmless chemical called mercaptan which is added to our supplies to give warnings of leaks.
Just like fossil fuel gas, biogas can be used for cooking and heating, but also to produce greener fertilisers, low carbon glass and even clean aviation fuels.