The permission, which was awarded by council planning officials on Wednesday (February 18), is a boost to the council's plans to build the park in partnership with the successful bidder for its 25-year waste collection and treatment contract.
Following this week's decision, the council's cabinet member for neighbourhoods and housing, councillor Mahboob Hussain, said: “This is a major step forward for the council's Waste Improvement Plan.
“We don't yet know what exactly will be at the Eco Park because we will contract with a specialist commercial partner to implement the plan and operate the centre. Until we know our prospective partner's detailed proposals, we cannot be sure of the exact make-up of the Eco Park.
“But we will submit a further planning application for detailed permission when we reach that stage, and, meantime, will be holding public consultation events to keep people informed of progress,” he added.
The council has previously indicated that the Eco Park development could include a materials recycling facility (MRF) and an in-vessel composting plant.
The award of outline planning permission was accompanied by a number of conditions relating to landscaping at the site, a ban on open-air storage and treatment of waste and measures to control dust and noise at the development.
Bidders
The council is expected to narrow down its shortlist of bidders for the £1 billion waste management deal soon, to leave three contenders to submit detailed plans.
The five bidders currently in the running for the deal are waste management firm Biffa, services company Enterprise, Spanish-owned waste company Focsa (a sister company to WRG), Hampshire-based service management firm Serco and French-owned waste management firm Veolia Environmental Services
The Eco Park development is the second half of Sandwell's waste management plans, alongside the agreement that it secured last July to send up to 60,000 tonnes of residual waste a year to be processed in Staffordshire county council proposed PFI-funded energy-from-waste plant at Four Ashes (see letsrecycle.com story).
Sandwell is aiming to reach a 50% recycling and composting rate by 2015 and to reduce the amount of waste it sends to landfill to just 5% by 2020.
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