Waste site still a burning issue
CAMPAIGNERS CELEBRATING ITS TWO-YEAR CLOSURE BUT...
TWO years after the controversial Sinfin waste plant was closed before it could become fully operational, work is still continuing to determine its condition and potential capability for being brought into use.
The plug was pulled on the £50 million project in 2019 and local residents who had been plagued by smells and flies are happy that the “white elephant” site has not reopened.
TWO years after the controversial Sinfin waste plant was closed before it could become fully operational, work is still continuing to determine its condition and potential capability for being brought into use.
When the plug was pulled on the £50 million project on August 2, 2019, it was being developed by Resource Recovery Solutions (RRS), a joint venture of construction firm Interserve and waste business Renewi, on behalf of Derby City Council and the county council.
It was also the source of numerous complaints about flies and smells from residents around Sinfin Lane, who were relieved when the decision to stop testing and close the plant was taken.
Since then, an operation to clean up and evaluate the site has been taking place – and discussions are still being sorted about a fair value financial settlement for the redundant plant between the banks and the councils.
The site stopped accepting waste in 2019. It has been diverted to other tips around the county, including the Raynesway Household Waste and Recycling Centre.
But both city and county councils intend to see the plant brought into use and an update on the situation will be available in the next two months.
Simon Bacon, who has been campaigning against the creation of the Sinfin waste centre for more than a decade, has written to councillors to coincide with the second anniversary of closure.
His scathing comments on the “Sinfin white elephant”, he calls it appeals to the councillors to stop wasting money, which he says has cost around £5.5 million alone since it closed two years ago.
Mr Bacon wrote: “We need to take a long, hard look at the skyrocketing costs of this white elephant. The city council cannot continue to burn taxpayers’ funds.
“We were told last week at an online liaison group that when an estimated fair value is agreed, the councils will somehow get the money back from works since closure but as some consider the fair value for a plant that does not work is nothing, it’s a big ask to rake back anything never mind the £5.5 million, or however much the city is in this mess for.
“I know we do not celebrate enough these days, and it’s easy to forget anniversaries such as the plant’s closure but, rest assured, I visited the plant to put a lovely banner message up outside the site to remind everyone how wonderful it is that the plant is closed - on behalf of Sinfin and Normanton residents.”
The Derby Telegraph understands that some of the delay in settling a fair value has occurred because the banks involved in the project sold out to a hedge fund and this meant that negotiations had to re-start over the plant. And that the councils are maintaining the plant, with the aim of getting it going again after understanding what is needed to rectify it and make it function. Overheating, excessive odours and failure to handle waste at the required rate were just a few of the many issues which prevented the waste plant from coming into use, according to the service delivery plan obtained by Mr Bacon previously.
He forced the city council to reveal the details after complaining to the Local Government Ombudsman when the document was initially published heavily redacted. Once completed, the Sinfin plant was intended to divert 190,000 tonnes of rubbish per year away from expensive landfill by heattreating waste to produce a gas, which is then burned to create enough electricity to power 14,000 homes, which it became apparent it could not do.
A spokesman for Derby city and Derbyshire county councils said: “Following the termination of the contract with RRS, Renewi was appointed by Derby City and Derbyshire County Councils to secure the site, carry out a deep clean of the facility, and to work to determine its condition and capability.
“This detailed investigation work will help the councils to understand the current condition and identify any issues which need to be addressed.
The history of controversial Sinfin waste treatment centre scheme
“The investigatory work is complex but is almost complete. The findings will be used to explore the options and inform councils’ decisions about the future use of the facility.
“The outcome of the work will also inform the council’s negotiations with funders to pay an estimated fair value for the facility (this is the value of the plant, taking into account all of the potential costs of rectifying ongoing issues at the facility, and the costs of providing the services to meet the agreed standards).
“Any costs the councils have incurred will also be taken into account.”
Controversy has surrounded Sinfin waste plant ever since it was first suggested back at the beginning of the century to deal with all of Derbyshire’s household waste.
Public consultation on the scheme began in 2009 and the next four years involved court action, petitions against the development and the creation of action groups.
In 2013, an appeal against planning permission failed and work started on the Sinfin Lane site, which should have been operational by 2017.
IT OPENED, THE PLUG WAS PULLED BUT SAGA’S NOT OVER
We need to take a long, hard look at the skyrocketing costs of this white elephant.
Simon Bacon