Norfolk urges Pickles for Kings Lynn EfW decision

Communities secretary Eric Pickles is being urged to decide on whether to give the go-ahead to the proposed 500 million Kings Lynn energy-from-waste (EfW) facility by Norfolk county council, which claims a final announcement is two months overdue.

A cross-party letter signed by Labour council leader George Nobbs, Conservative councillor Beverley Spratt and Liberal Democrat councillor James Joyce yesterday (March 10) called on Mr Pickles to once again, please put an end to the uncertainty that surrounds the issue of the energy-from-waste project.

Plans for the controversial incinerator, which is being developed by the Cory Wheelabrator consortium under a 25-year PFI contract with the council, would see 268,000 tonnes of the countys residual waste treated each year.

The contract was awarded by the council in February 2012, but this decision was then called in by Mr Pickles for a public inquiry which took place in May 2013 (see letsrecycle.com story).

In October 2013, the EfW plant was thrown into further doubt after Defra withdrew 169 million funding for the project, with Norfolk later deciding to use its operating budget to make up the shortfall (see letsrecycle.com story).

Compensation

Councillors claim in the letter that Mr Pickles said he would give his decision on or before January 14 2014, adding that it seems wholly unreasonable to withhold your decision, whatever that decision may be, in the knowledge that the county council as a direct result is prejudiced financially by the delay.

And, the letter states: Norfolk needs to know whether we will need to pay approximately 30 million in compensation to the contractors in the event of planning failure. The 840,000 people of Norfolk who depend on the services that we provide deserve an answer.

The absence of any clear reason or explanation for the delay is leading to suggestions locally that the decision in being delayed for political reasons, a rumour that we are sure you would wish to dispel just as strongly as we do. This protracted delay is damaging to council taxpayers and the public faith in democracy.

Yesterdays letter follows another letter signed by Norfolk council leader Mr Nobbs last week, which also urged for a decision on the incinerator while also defending the councils decision to introduce a 2 public charge at nine of its 20 household waste and recycling centres from 2016/17 (see letsrecycle.com story).

A spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) said: A decision will be made by ministers in due course. At present, ministers are carefully considering all the evidence and detailed representations from a wide range of parties, following the receipt of the planning inspector’s report.”