Kier Construction has been given the go-ahead to begin work on a £40 million energy from waste (EfW) plant in Devonport Dockyard, Plymouth, just months after the council announced deliberations about cancelling the contract for the plant.
The previous Plymouth City Council, in conjunction with the South West Devon Waste Partnership (SWDWP), commissioned the plant from Kier Construction, in the hopes of processing up to 240,000 tonnes of waste taken from Plymouth, Devon and Torbay to generate electricity and heat.
The council, now primarily controlled by the Labour party, and local residents raised concerns about the plant (approved under a largely Conservative council) being constructed near a built-up residential community, as the nearest house to the plant is just 62 metres away. Legal advice, however, found that cancelling the contract would cost the council more than £400 million in compensation to MVV and fellow SWDWP members Torbay and Devon.
"It is with deep regret that we are not able to revoke the consent as the consequences would be catastrophic for the city”, said Bill Stevens, chair of Plymouth’s Planning Committee.
"We were asked to look at the evidence the report set out and see if there was a case for revocation of the consent. The report spelt out that the only basis for us to revoke is to demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt that the planning consent was flawed in some way. However the independent legal advice says this is not the case.
"On top of that, the Committee had to consider the financial consequences of revoking the planning decision. The wider costs to the city – more than £400 million – would mean council services, bins, schools, social care – would not run for two years. "
Kier Construction, in conjunction with contractor MVV Umwelt, will now begin work on the plant ‘shortly’, with commissioning due to commence in the third quarter of 2014.
“We are pleased to be awarded the contract and to be working with MVV on the next phase of works to deliver this state-of-the-art facility, which will deal with the Partnership’s waste”, said Sean Jeffery, Regional Managing Director of Kier’s infrastructure business.
Construction will create up to 150 jobs, 70 per cent of which will be sought out from the local community, says Kier.
More information on the plant can be found on MVV Umwelt's website.
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How will the government and DMOs address the challenges of including glass in DRS while ensuring a level playing field across the UK?
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