A 16-year deal to treat the borough’s black bag waste was agreed in December 2012 between Material Works (Norfolk) Ltd and the council, but progress has been slow and planning permission has yet to be secured for a site to construct the proposed plant.
However, a council spokeswoman said that no public money would be committed to the contract “unless the council is confident that the conditions have been fully met”.
An artist’s impression of the proposed “groundbreaking” facility – which would process up to 70,000 tonnes of waste per year into a plasticised wood replacement product – was released in January 2014, but it was emblazoned with the logo of Duratrust Ltd rather than that of Material Works Ltd.
However, a Material Works spokesman explained this image was incorrectly issued, and that while Duratrust was the company involved when the King’s Lynn and West Norfolk contract was first being looked at, the deal “is, and always has been, with Material Works”.
Robert Billson is the managing director of both companies, but while Material Works is still active, a petition was lodged against Duratrust Ltd on September 8 2014, and the firm was subsequently wound-up in December.
According to Mr Billson, the winding-up order followed a “long standing dispute with a customer and a failure to reach a satisfactory resolution”.
The petition was lodged by Sheffield-based construction products firm R3 Products Ltd, which claimed to be a creditor of Duratrust.
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But Mr Billson insists that while the action against Duratrust is “regrettable”, it will “have no adverse impact on Material Works (Norfolk Ltd)”.
Mr Billson said: “The core investors of the group remain supportive and Material Works (Norfolk) Ltd remains wholly confident of its ability to fulfill its contractual obligations.
“The contract for residual waste in West Norfolk is between the borough council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk and Material Works (Norfolk) Ltd. Whilst Duratrust Ltd was involved in the initial stages of the process, that company is not in any way connected with the contract subsequently signed.”
King’s Lynn and West Norfolk
In November 2014, King’s Lynn and West Norfolk borough council granted a three-month extension to its contract with Material Works, with the potential for up to three further three-month extensions (see letsrecycle.com story).
Before the extension, the deal’s two-year deadline to obtain planning permission for the facility was previously due to expire last month.
Conditions of the contract extension set by the council mean that Material Works must obtain planning permission and an environmental permit for the development, as well as confirmation that the council will receive recycling credits from Norfolk county council.
In addition, the firm must also secure ‘end-of-waste’ certification for its proposed waste treatment process, which Material Works claims will recycle up to 96% of the borough’s black bag waste.
A spokeswoman for the council said: “Following yesterday’s announcement regarding Duratrust, our officers will be speaking with Material Works to ensure that there are no implications for the contract between Material Works and the council. A formal review of the conditional contract, where we will assess progress against the conditions we have stipulated, will take place in March. council will then determine how to proceed.
“The conditional contract, by its very nature, means that no public money will be committed unless the council is confident that the conditions have been fully met.”
It is hoped that the facility will be operational by the end of 2017, which would be five years after the contract was first signed.
Related Links:
–King’s Lynn and West Norfolk borough council
–R3 Products Ltd
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