Cumbria in final negotiations over 400m waste contract

A spokesman for the council told letsrecycle.com that it hoped to give councillors the opportunity to agree the final award of the contract, for which Shanks was named preferred bidder in November 2006 (see letsrecycle.com story) on November 20.

“As far as finalising the contract goes, we are in final negotiations with Shanks with a view to putting a paper before council (recommending councillors approve the Shanks contract) on November 20,” he said.

He added: “The contract won't just be signed there and then – it will probably be just after Christmas. We are aiming for a February 1 start date for the contract with Shanks.”

The contract involves the development of two 70,000 tonne-a-year capacity MBT facilities, producing 75,000 tonnes a year of solid recovered fuel utilising the same 'Intelligent Transfer System' technology that Shanks has used at its Frog Island plant in East London.

WRG 

The news comes as the reserve bidder for the contract, Doncaster-based Waste Recycling Group (WRG), has completed its purchase of the business and assets of local waste and recycling firm CAW Ltd, in a bid to strengthen its presence in waste management in Cumbria.

WRG will absorb CAW's existing waste transfer station and staff as part of the deal signed on October 3, but will not take the company name. The cost of the purchase has not been disclosed.

Spanish-owned WRG already provides collection, recycling, clinical and liquid waste disposal and landfill in Cumbria, and will now be able to expand its operations in county following the acquisition of the Barrow-in-Furness-based firm's assets.

CAW – which has an annual turnover in the region of £5 million – currently operates a fleet of vehicles throughout Furness and South Lakeland from its Walney Road transfer station and employs 30 staff members. WRG has said that these jobs are secure and, as part of the deal, the company has claimed that there is potential for more jobs in the area following the acquisition.

Legal advice for the purchase was provided to WRG by Mark Rutherford of HBJ Gateley Wareing in Nottingham, while CAW Ltd was advised by Mark Maden-Wilkinson and David Sharpe at Pierce Corporate Finance in Blackburn, with legal advice provided by Sonio Singh, partner at Pannone in Manchester.

CAW Ltd had previously operated Cumbria county council's household waste and recycling centre contract before it was terminated early in 2007 following a police investigation (see letsrecycle.com story).

In April 2008, court proceedings began against four CAW employees on fraud charges (see letsrecycle.com story). They are due to stand trial on April 20 2009.