The firm is due to have its case against the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) heard in the High Court on December 16-17.
DCLG minister Mr Pickles decided not to uphold Herts county council’s planning for the plant near Hatfield in August following an inquiry lasting more than a year, citing the potential impact of the development on Green Belt land among the reasons for the decision.
The project was further rocked this month when Defra opted to remove its PFI funding support for the project, withdrawing £115 million of credits that had been allocated for the facility in February 2009 (see letsrecycle.com).
Hertfordshire county council is to meet next week to discuss the future of the project, and to decide whether to allow Veolia more time to revise its plans to serve the £800 million residual waste treatment contract signed between the two parties in 2011. Councillors may also consider termination of the contract, which would see Hertfordshire council liable to pay Veolia £1.2 million in costs.
Uncertainty
A report to Hertfordshire’s Highways and Waste Management Cabinet ahead of the meeting on Tuesday (November 4) indicates that Veolia is eager to push the project through to completion, although the legal complications throw some uncertainty over the timetable for the project.
In its report, Hertfordshire council states: “The Secretary of State has given notice that he will defend his position at the hearing and it is very likely that both Welwyn & Hatfield borough council and the group Herts Without Waste will make representations. Despite this VES [Veolia] remain confident that the High Court will quash the Secretary of State’s decision, and accordingly, that the planning will revert to the Secretary of State for re-determination.”
Currently the council has given Veolia a revised deadline of 31 December by which time, if planning consent has not been confirmed, it is obliged to either request a revised project plan from the contractor or terminate the contract.
Decision
However, despite Veolia’s confidence that it will defeat Pickles in the High Court it appears unlikely that any decision is likely to be issued before late January 2015 at the earliest.
The report adds: “The length of time that the Secretary of State would take to re-determine the planning application is unknown, and could take many months as there is no prescribed time limit by which the Secretary of State would have to make any re-determination.”
As a result of delays to the project, Herts has secured waste residual waste treatment contracts until 2018, which it has the option to extend for an additional three years. Officers have therefore recommended that the council extend the deadline for submission of any revised proposals until after a decision is made on the New Barnfield application.
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