The surprise announcement was made this afternoon by WRAP – the Waste and Resources Programme – following “concern” that Aylesford could no longer deliver on a contract to fulfil the objectives of the WRAP programme.
Aylesford won its preferred bidder status after WRAP invited tenders last year under a competition aimed at increasing the amount of newsprint that could be recycled in the UK. Shotton Paper Company and Aylesford Newsprint were the two main contenders for the project and in November 2001 WRAP announced that Aylesford’s submission, which was for a new paper machine at its Kent plant, was the chosen project. The next stage saw Aylesford as preferred bidder ahead of contract discussions between WRAP and the company.
Now WRAP has revealed that on January 3 it received a letter from Aylesford which “made a significant change in the proposals they were putting forward”. But, WRAP has not said what the significant change was. Aylesford is expected to give its views on the situation shortly.
WRAP says that at a meeting on January 8, the WRAP Board noted “with concern that Aylesford was not now in apposition to execute a contract giving certainty that new capacity would be delivered within a timescale that fulfils the objectives of the competition, and therefore decided to remove their preferred bidder status.”
Jennie Price, chief executive of WRAP said: “Given that WRAP is committing significant sums of public money to this project, a competitive process was essential to determine who should receive support. Having embarked upon a competitive process, we must apply its rules continuously and consistently. Both of the original bids were of good quality. There has now been a significant shift in the nature of the commitment Aylesford are able to make which the WRAP board could not ignore. Their view was shared by our expert assessment panel.”
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