Waste management firm FCC Environment has said it is disappointed that its challenge against an order granting permission for Covanta Energys proposed Rookery South energy-from-waste (EfW) plant in Bedfordshire was rejected by the High Court.
Mr Justice Mitting dismissed FCCs challenge against the Development Consent Order the first such order in UK last week (February 6), thereby permitting Covantas proposals for an EfW plant and materials recycling facility (MRF) at the Rookery South Pit a former clay extraction site near Stewartby.
A DCO is awarded to any development classified as a nationally significant infrastructure project, and is intended to speed up and simplify the planning process.
A spokesman for FCC which unsuccessfully argued that the decision process to award Covanta the DCO was flawed said the firm would now consult with its legal team as to what its next course of action might be.
The spokesman said: Its disappointing that the judge found against us at this hearing. We are currently reviewing our options with our legal advisors before we decide on our next course of action.
FCC is believed to have challenged the Order as it owns rights on some of the land. The introduction of such a large facility would also likely impact on the areas waste management market, in which FCC and Covanta are competitors.
However, it is still not known whether the Rookery South proposals will actually come to fruition, as US company Covanta is pulling out of the UK and seeking a buyer for its business in the country (see letsrecycle.com story).
A UK spokeswoman for the energy firm was unable to confirm what the companys plans were for the site going forward.
‘Its disappointing that the judge found against us at this hearing. We are currently reviewing our options with our legal advisors before we decide on our next course of action.’
FCC Environment spokesman
With full permission now granted for an EfW and MRF, though, Covantas Rookery South site still represents a potentially valuable waste management asset which the firm may sell.
Matthew Mulcahy, senior vice president at Covanta, said: We are pleased that the challenge against the Development Consent Order for Rookery South has been dismissed and that the project is now fully consented.
Development Consent Order
Covanta Energy submitted the DCO application for the Resource Recovery Facility at Rookery South Pit to the independent Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) in 2010. The DCO was then granted in 2011, becoming first major infrastructure project in the UK to gain such approval (see letsrecycle.com story).
The application was made under a system introduced by the previous government as part of the Planning Act 2008, which took the power for all energy planning decisions above 50MW away from government ministers. However, the IPC was abolished by the current government in 2012, and final planning decisions are now once again taken by the relevant secretary of state.
Covanta Energys proposals include a 585,000 tonnes per year capacity EfW plant, which would generate 65MW of electricity, and a dedicated MRF to recover metals and secondary aggregate post-treatment in the EfW plant.
The companys meetings with the Rookery South Community Liaison Panel concerning the plans have been suspended until Spring 2014, Covantas website states.
[…] While it is understood that FCC owns rights to some of the land, at the time it was also thought that the large facility would impact on the area’s waste management market – in which FCC and Covanta were competitors (see letsrecycle.com story). […]