Bradford granted Judicial Review of PFI withdrawal

Bradford and Calderdale councils have been granted permission for a judicial review of Defras decision to withdraw 62.1 million of PFI funding for their proposed energy-from-waste facility at Bowling Back Lane.

And, North Yorkshire council today (August 22) announced that it has also won permission for a JR of Defra’s withdrawal of 65 million in credits for its 1.4 billion waste contract with AmeyCespa, which included the development of an EfW facility at Allerton. [updated PM August 23]

Both PFI (Private Finance Initiative) Judicial Reviews will be heard at the same time, but no date has yet been set for the hearing.

The combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Bradford, to be run by an FCC-led consortium was to process 193,000 tonnes of waste per year.

In addition, the Bradford project which was granted planning permission in November 2012 would have provided around 300 construction jobs during a three-year period and around 80 operation jobs.

Bradford said it now has no long-term solution for dealing with the districts waste after Defra axed funding for the project in February 2013 (see letsrecycle.com story).

2020 targets

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the projects were no longer needed to meet the governments 2020 landfill targets, but Bradford (see letsrecycle.com story) and North Yorkshire (see letsrecycle.com story) then launched Judicial Review applications into the decision in May 2013.

A Defra spokeswoman commented: We are investing 3.6 billion in 29 waste infrastructure projects. This will reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill, promote recycling and stimulate economic growth. As this is an ongoing legal matter, we are unable to comment further at this stage. [updated 4PM August 23].

However, a spokeswoman for North Yorkshire said it was “pleased” the High Court had decided to review Defra’s decision, adding that the department had “acted unlawfully in removing our infrastructure credits”.

Bradford costs

Government funding for the Bowling Back Lane plant was worth more than 120 million over the lifetime of the 25-year contract, without which Bradford council said the project is financially unviable.

The Pennine Resource Recovery consortium of FCC Environment and Skanska had been announced as the preferred bidder for a contract to develop the Bradford EfW plant and was due to sign the contract in summer 2013.

According to Bradford council, Defra was reviewing its support for several waste projects back in November 2012. Had Defra informed the council about this review at this stage, the council claims it would have saved costs of around 2.7 million.

Furthermore, Bradford council leader David Green said in May 2013 that the council would probably have to write off around 5 million which it had already spent on the Bowling Back Lane project, including the enabling and utility works on site (see letsrecycle.com story).

No choice

Bradford councillor Andrew Thornton, executive member for environment and sport, welcomed the High Courts decision to grant permission for a Judicial Review.

He said: “By its withdrawal of the waste PFI credits at the eleventh hour Defra pulled the rug from under our long-term solution for dealing with the district’s waste in a sustainable way. This project would have diverted almost all of our waste away from landfill in the face of rising landfill taxes.

This is why we felt we had no choice but to challenge Defras decision through the courts.

Leader of Calderdale council, Tim Swift, said Defras decision left the councils with no option but to apply for a Judicial Review.

He added: Its pleasing that the court agrees with us that there is a case to be heard. The investment in a new waste treatment plant should have led to major savings for council tax payers in both local authorities, yet instead we are now left with major costs and the need to find an alternative solution for our waste.