As a result of the change of ownership, the NLWA will gain complete control over running the Edmonton incinerator, while land and other operations, including an in-vessel composting facility also located at Edmonton, will transfer to its ownership.
We expect that a future contractor on waste services will acquire LondonWaste at the start of a new contract
Cllr Clyde Loakes, NLWA
The authority said it hoped the acquisition would increase its chances of successfully procuring a new long-term waste treatment contract, and it now plans to revise and resubmit the Outline Business Case for PFI funding it submitted to Defra in May 2009 to reflect the change of ownership
Claiming that the change of ownership was “good news for all concerned”, the chair of the NLWA, councillor Clyde Loakes, stressed LondonWaste's importance in providing both disposal and recycling facilities for the region.
He explained that the acquisition also meant that the NLWA could look at using the Edmonton EcoPark site, which is home to the incinerator and in-vessel composting facility, for its future plans, and would not have to explore alternative sites in the Upper Lea Valley.
And, he added that the successful bidder for its long-term contract would now be expected to take over ownership of LondonWaste when a deal was signed.
“We expect that a future contractor on waste services will acquire LondonWaste at the start of a new contract and that offers a good future for current LondonWaste employees as well as allowing the Authority to develop into a very attractive bidding opportunity,” he said.
Disposal
LondonWaste was established in 1994 as a joint venture between the authority, which handles waste disposal for seven North London boroughs, and SITA UK, and, as well as being the operational arm for the NLWA, it handles a 20-year contract for the transfer and disposal of the authority's waste – which ends in 2014.
The NLWA now plans to use the Edmonton EfW plant as an interim solution for managing waste from the seven boroughs as it moves forward with the PFI procurement process, where it is thought to be trying to secure up to £525 million in Defra funding (see letsrecycle.com story).
SITA UK
In return for acquiring complete control of the company, the NLWA will transfer its 50% stake in the Polkacrest clinical waste business, which has sites in London, Sevenoaks and Stafford, to SITA UK.
SITA UK's chief executive, David Palmer-Jones, expressed his pride at the progress LondonWaste had made over the past 15 years, and stressed that SITA UK now hoped to be a part of NLWA's procurement process.
“We understand the importance of this facility to the NLWA's procurement process and are pleased that the close partnership between the NLWA and SITA UK has enabled us to come to an understanding which facilitates the NLWA's plans for the future,” he said.
“We will continue to take a keen interest in north London including NLWA's proposed procurement which we wish to be a part of,” he added.
The acquisition, which was made for an undisclosed sum, is now subject to due diligence.
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