Appendices to Proof of Evidence by Nicholas Roberts - Programme

197 Pages·2013·22.34 MB·English

UBB1A to UBB1X

JAVELIN PARK ENERGY FROM WASTE
FACILITY

PLANNING APPEAL TO BE HEARD BY LOCAL INQUIRY UNDER
SECTION 78 OF THE TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING ACT 1990
(AS AMENDED) INTO THE REFUSAL BY GLOUCESTERSHIRE
COUNTY COUNCIL OF A PLANNING APPLICATION FOR THE
DEVELOPMENT OF AN ENERGY FROM WASTE FACILITY ON LAND
AT JAVELIN PARK, NEAR HARESFIELD, GLOUCESTERSHIRE

PINS REFERENCE: APP/T1600/A/13/2200210
LPA REFERENCE: 12/0008/STMAJW

PROOF OF EVIDENCE OF NICHOLAS ROBERTS

APPENDIX UBB1A to UBB1X

October 2013

PAGE 1
UBB1A

JAVELIN PARK ENERGY FROM WASTE
FACILITY

PLANNING APPEAL TO BE HEARD BY LOCAL INQUIRY UNDER
SECTION 78 OF THE TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING ACT 1990
(AS AMENDED) INTO THE REFUSAL BY GLOUCESTERSHIRE
COUNTY COUNCIL OF A PLANNING APPLICATION FOR THE
DEVELOPMENT OF AN ENERGY FROM WASTE FACILITY ON LAND
AT JAVELIN PARK, NEAR HARESFIELD, GLOUCESTERSHIRE

PINS REFERENCE: APP/T1600/A/13/2200210
LPA REFERENCE: 12/0008/STMAJW

PROOF OF EVIDENCE OF NICHOLAS ROBERTS

APPENDIX UBB1A

Evidence of Mr J Williams at Javelin Park B8 Inquiry

October 2013

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Proof of Evidence in response to Application referred to the Secretary of State under Section
77 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

October 2006

1. Waste Disposal Authority representation: Mike Williams BSc MSc MBA
CCHEM MCIWM CENV
1.1 Mike J Williams, acting on behalf of the Waste Disposal Authority, Gloucestershire
County Council. Mike Williams is Head of Waste Management at Gloucestershire
County Council, with responsibility for the statutory Waste Disposal Authority (WDA)
function. He has over 17 years experience in waste management, working for waste
contractors, consultants and in the public sector.
1.2 He has an honours degree in chemistry, an MSc in environmental pollution control,
a post-graduate diploma in hazardous waste management and an MBA. He is a
chartered chemist, chartered environmentalist and a member of the Chartered
Institution of Wastes Management. He has worked in his current role for 5 years.

2. Purpose of Evidence
2.1 The purpose of this evidence is to provide Gloucestershire County Council’s position
as the Waste Disposal Authority with respect to Javelin Park, Bath Road,
Gloucester. It states the Waste Disposal Authority’s support for the safeguarding of
Javelin Park for a strategic waste site, on both strategic and deliverability grounds. It
also highlights the realism and need for acquiring for the entirety of Javelin Park, for
the delivery of a strategic waste site.

3. The need for waste treatment facilities
3.1 Gloucestershire County Council under section 51 of the Environmental Protection
Act 1990 was given statutory duties as a Waste Disposal Authority (WDA) to
manage the disposal of municipal waste arisings in its area at all reasonable times
and for the provision of neighbourhood waste disposal sites (civic amenity sites),
which must be free of charge for householders.
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3.2 Therefore the WDA is required to provide waste management facilities for the
treatment of Gloucestershire’s municipal waste arisings. Municipal waste is only
approximately 25% of the controlled wastes1 produced in Gloucestershire. In
2005/6, Gloucestershire generated 312,118 tonnes of municipal waste of which
288,221 tonnes was household waste. Currently the WDA composts and recycles
30% of this waste, and the remainder is landfilled at two landfill sites within
Gloucestershire at Hempsted and Wingmoor Farm (West).
3.3 The WDA is currently facing a number of legislative initiatives aimed at transforming
the way municipal waste is managed, moving from reliance on landfill to waste
management based on the principles of the waste management hierarchy. The
principal impetus behind this change is the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme,
implemented by the Waste and Emissions Trading Act 2003, which aims to divert
biodegradable municipal waste from landfill.

3.4 Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme
3.4.1 The Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme (LATS) is the target setting and fiscal
mechanism introduced by the Government to encourage local authorities to divert
biodegradable waste from landfill. The landfill reduction targets for each local
authority are designed so that the UK meets its obligations under the EU Landfill
Directive in order to reduce the production of methane, a highly potent greenhouse
gas.
3.4.2 In line with other Waste Disposal Authorities, Gloucestershire County Council has
been set landfill allowances for biodegradable waste that decrease each year up to
2020. If the WDA landfills more waste than its allowance, there are two options:

1. Buy allowances off another Authority. It is anticipated that there will be a
shortage of allowances from 2009/10 because of the lack of waste processing
facilities across the country.

2. Pay fines which are currently set at £150 per tonne above it’s allowance of
biodegradable waste to landfill.

1 The Waste Framework Directive defines controlled waste as including commercial, industrial,
municipal and some agricultural wastes.
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3.4.3 To date the WDA has bought 34,000 tonnes worth of allowances and has spent
£600,000, paying an average £17 per tonne allowance. The cost will rise each year
as more authorities reach the headroom on their allowances and available waste
processing capacity. The National Audit Office has warned that there will not be
sufficient capacity in the UK to meet landfill diversion in target years 2010 and 2013.

3.4.4 It is estimated that if municipal waste arisings in Gloucestershire, which is currently
growing at 3% per annum, continues to grow at that rate, and no waste treatment
facilities are built, Gloucestershire County Council potentially faces substantial fines
under the LATS regime year on year.

3.5 Draft Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy 2006
3.5.1 Gloucestershire’s seven waste management authorities, collectively known as
Gloucestershire Waste Partnership, have prepared the draft Joint Municipal Waste
Management Strategy (JMWMS) for consultation (Appendix 1). It (3.1) provides a
framework for the development of municipal waste management services through to
2020 and will inform the business and financial planning of waste management for
each authority. The key principle that frames strategic waste management is known
as the ‘waste hierarchy’. The waste hierarchy states that it is most preferable to
prevent waste production in the first place and then reduce and reuse waste where
possible. Recycling and composting are next in the hierarchy above waste treatment
technologies such as incineration with landfill being the least acceptable option at
the bottom of the hierarchy.
3.5.2 The draft JMWMS (3.4.1) is currently being prepared alongside the new Waste
Development Planning Documents (the Waste Core Strategy) and therefore an
iterative process is being followed whereby the JMWMS both informs and is
informed by the emerging Waste Core Strategy (WCS). The JMWMS does not set
policy to determine where municipal waste management facilities should be sited,
but details how municipal waste will be collected and disposed of. The JMWMS
looks to the adopted Waste Local Plan (2004) (until it is replaced by Waste
Development Planning Documents) to determine where these facilities should be
located.
3.5.3 The JMWMS is founded on detailed and accurate historical municipal waste data.
This has enabled the GWP to forecast municipal waste arisings to predict the future
capacity requirements to divert municipal waste from landfill.
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3.5.4 The JMWMS establishes that in order to meet the requirements of the LATS regime,
the County Council needs to deliver new waste management facilities for the
diversion of waste from landfill. By 2009/10 (7.4.3), approximately 80,000 tonnes of
in-vessel composting capacity will be required to meet GWP’s vision statement that
“All householders in Gloucestershire will have convenient and easy-to use collection
services, enabling them to recycle and compost at least 70% of their rubbish by April
2010”. In addition (7.4.5) by 2013, residual waste treatment, such as MBT,
Autoclave, and Energy from Waste, is required to divert further biodegradable waste
from landfill (about 150,000 tonnes of residual waste) to avoid heavy LATS fines.
3.5.5 The draft JMWMS will be out for consultation from November for a 12 week period.
In summary, it highlights the challenges faced by the WDA in meeting European and
national waste management targets and the imperative need for new waste
management facilities in Gloucestershire, including composting and residual waste
treatment facilities, to maximise the diversion of waste from landfill. Therefore the
WDA needs a suitable site on which to locate these facilities.

4. Waste PFI Contract history – the previous solution

4.1 In September 2003, after receiving a conditional offer of £25.1M PFI credits2, GCC
waste management unit began a procurement process to deliver an holistic, flexible
and continuously improving integrated waste management contract for the
composting, recycling, treatment and landfill of municipal waste.

4.2 The WDA provided an output specification in which the main objectives were to
increase levels of recycling and composting (55% by 2019/20); and increase the
pre-treatment and diversion of active and Biodegradable Municipal Waste (BMW)
from landfill. Bidders were expected to provide technical solutions to deliver these
objectives.

4.3 By early 2005, the WDA had reached the Best and Final Offer stage and was
working with two Bidders, Cory Environmental and Shanks Waste Management.
Both bidders required a strategic waste site (approximately 5 hectares) for the
delivery of waste treatment facilities. The residual waste technology solution offered

2 The provision of credits was granted for an outline business case that was developed by the County
Council.
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by both contracts was Mechanical Biological Treatment. This process mechanically
sorts or reduces the size of the waste and either biologically dries the waste so that
it can be combusted as a Refuse Derived Fuel or biologically composting the
organic part to produce a ‘compost-like’ product for landfill.

4.3.1 Need for land
4.3.2 One of the conditions set by DEFRA (in 2003) against the award of £25.1M PFI
credits was the provision of a parcel of land to provide a level playing field for all PFI
bidders. Therefore during the PFI procurement process, the WDA began reviewing
the availability of the WLP sites (including Javelin Park) and other brownfield sites,
as it was clear that the WDA needed to identify and secure a strategic site to deliver
new waste treatment facilities.

4.3.3 Slough Estates historical negotiations (05.12.03 to 23.06.05)
4.3.4 As Javelin Park was identified as a strategic site in the then emerging WLP, GCC
Property Services contacted Slough Estates regarding the availability of Javelin
Park on 5 December 2003. Slough Estates stated that they were not willing to
consider waste as an option for their site.
4.3.5 However, a letter from Slough Estates to Cory Environmental dated 3 August 2004
was subsequently received by the County Council as part of the PFI process. Cory
had expressed, in principle, an interest in acquiring the freehold interest of the entire
site on a land purchase basis. Slough wrote, “ at this point in time, this may be
considered as a possibility although clearly any price will need to reflect the
opportunity cost in terms of the loss of development profit”. From this the WDA
understood that Slough Estates may enter into negotiations.
4.3.6 In March 2005, GVA Grimley, Bristol, were appointed to provide the WDA with
advice in respect of Javelin Park to assist the WDA in undertaking a risk
assessment in order to select a preferred site to accommodate a Strategic Waste
Site for the PFI contract. Javelin Park was identified as the preferred site in
planning terms as it is allocated as a strategic waste site in the adopted WLP
(2004).
4.3.7 GVA Grimley began negotiations with Slough Estates in (March/April 2005). Slough
Estates confirmed during an initial meeting that they were of the opinion that waste
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use on any of their site would blight development of the remainder of the site.
Slough Estates were of the opinion that they will be unable to overcome the adverse
perception historically of waste uses and therefore the occupier demand and land
values would be adversely affected.
4.3.8 Slough Estates confirmed that they would only consider disposal of their entire
interest in Javelin Park to the County Council in order to negate this perceived risk.
As such they submitted a proposal to the County Council dated 12 May 2005,
proposing a conditional freehold sale of the whole of Javelin Park. The sale would
have been subject to an exclusivity agreement of 6 months from the date of legal
documentation being issued in order that the County Council could obtain planning
permission.
4.3.9 GVA Grimley, on behalf of the County Council submitted an offer for the entire site,
subject to contract, satisfactory geotechnical and environmental surveys, the
relocation of the water pump and necessary Council approval. On 23 June 2005,
Slough Estates declined this offer and a counter proposal was received for the sale
of the freehold interest in the whole site subject to the above terms stating that they
were very keen to try to progress this transaction.

4.4 Termination of the PFI Cabinet decision
4.4.1 In May 2005, a newly elected administration initiated a comprehensive review of the
PFI procurement process for a 25 year integrated waste management contract.
This decision caused land negotiations to be suspended in the interim and led to a
report to Cabinet on 7 September 2005 where the decision was taken to:

• terminate the PFI waste management procurement process as:
o The project had deviated from the authority’s affordability envelope;
and
o The risks associated with the proposed residual waste technologies
and end markets were too high given the inherent uncertainties in
the municipal waste management environment;
• procure a new waste management contract (excluding a residual waste
management facility);
• extend the existing waste management contract to 6 August 2006 (in
accordance with the terms of the existing arrangements); and
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• to develop a strategy to procure a separate residual waste management
contract at a later date.

4.4.2 The PFI process was terminated for two main reasons. Firstly, the waste
management services and technologies brought forward were outside the WDA’s
affordability envelope. In addition to this, the two selected residual waste
technologies (MBT) presented a number of high risk issues that could not be
resolved. This included market risk associated with the outlet for the Refuse
Derived Fuel, and the legislation governing how the permitted levels of ‘stabilised
biodegradable waste’ would be monitored and measured. Failure to find outlets or
produce a stabilised waste had huge implications for meeting the LATS targets.

4.4.3 Therefore, as the PFI process had been terminated, land negotiations with Slough
Estates were ended. As the existing waste management contract expired on 6
August 2006, and no extensions were legally permitted, the WDA refocused its
attention on providing statutory services (see 3.1) only and made the decision to
procure a separate residual waste management contract at a later date. As the
WDA was only procuring its statutory services within a limited timeframe, the WDA
decided not proceed with land negotiations at this point.

4.4.4 On 7 August 2006, two contracts were signed for:
• Haulage, transfer, bulking, composting and landfill; and
• Transport and management of Household Recycling Centres.
4.4.5 As the WDA statutory services were now procured, the WDA was then able to look
at its future waste management needs and therefore consider re-opening land
negotiations with Slough Estates.

5. Future provision for waste facilities
5.1 As set out in the draft JMWMS 2006-2020 the WDA must provide new waste
management facilities to enable the diversion of municipal waste from landfill.
Under the constraints of the LATS regime, the WDA plans to divert biodegradable
waste from landfill by:
• Maximising recycling and waste reduction;
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• Delivering in-vessel composting (IVC) facilities to compost food and garden
waste;
• Buying allowances when necessary/available to avoid fines; and
• In the medium to long term, delivering some form of residual waste treatment
facility.

5.2 The WDA’s strategy is to have IVC capacity to recycle food and garden waste in
place by April 2009. In addition, a residual waste treatment solution is needed by
about 2013. To deliver composting and residual waste treatment capacity, the WDA
requires a land take of approximately 7 hectares. The precise hectareage is
dependent on the type of technology procured.

5.3 IVC capacity
5.3.1 The WDA proposes to site an IVC facility at Javelin Park with the capacity to
compost 60,000 tonnes per annum of green waste and food waste. This capacity
would provide a step-change in recycling and composting performance to meet
statutory recycling targets, and help the WDA to meet its obligations under the LATS
regime.

5.4 Residual Waste Management solution
5.4.1 Even with the implementation of composting and recycling schemes, the County
Council is required to divert further waste from disposal to landfill to meet the LATS
requirements. The most appropriate residual waste technology for
Gloucestershire’s circumstances has not yet been determined and an options review
is now underway. The timely introduction of residual waste treatment will reduce the
LATS cost and therefore securing a strategic site, will reduce a key risk to its
delivery.

5.5 Javelin Park as a Strategic site for municipal waste
5.5.1 On 17 October 2006, Gloucestershire County Council’s Cabinet approved the
cabinet report (Appendix 2) entitled ‘To approve the in-vessel composting and land
strategy’. The purpose of the Cabinet Report was to seek approval for the further
development of the IVC strategy including site provision. In particular, Waste Local
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