A £600m energy from waste contract has been terminated by Norfolk CC following delays in securing planning permission for a local incinerator.
Councillors voted to conclude the partnership with Cory Wheelabrator at an extraordinary meeting of the full council, which also ended speculation about the future King’s Lynn energy from waste plant.
The Government ‘called in’ the decision on the incinerator’s planning application in August 2012. However according to Norfolk, communities secretary Eric Pickles’ ‘failure to make a decision’ was costing around £140,000 a day.
While £250m savings were guaranteed at the signing of the 23-year contract, ‘escalating costs’ created by continuing delays meant projected savings would have ‘disappeared’ by June.
A Department for Communities and Local Government spokesman said the ‘unusually complex and controversial’ planning application had been ‘carefully considered’ with a decision to be provided in due course.
Norfolk will now face footing a £30.26m bill for terminating its contract with Cory Wheelabrator, with funds likely to come from contingency reserves, town hall under spend in 2013/14 and general reserves.
The town hall’s Cabinet will consider options for repayment at a meeting on 12 May.
Cory Wheelabrator said it was ‘extremely disappointed by the council’s decision’.
‘We, and the industry, have also made it clear to government that planning delays to major infrastructure projects are costly and can jeopardise future investment,’ a spokesperson for the Willows Power and Recycling Centre said.
‘The fact still remains that there is no firm solution for the long-term management of Norfolk’s waste, despite considerable time and expense being devoted to a solution that was viable, deliverable and would have created hundreds of jobs.’
