Suez is developing the Eco Park to manage waste from Surrey households as part of its 25-year contract with the local authority, originally signed in 1999.
The Eco Park is a collection of facilities designed to manage waste from Surrey households. Building work on the Park began in 2015, but the facilities are still not operational.
A report on the Eco Park written by Katie Stewart, the council’s executive director for environment, transport and infrastructure, went before a meeting of Surrey’s cabinet on 24 November.
It reads: “Whilst the provision of a number of the services in the contract are on track, the delays to the delivery of the anaerobic digester (AD) and the gasifier have prompted the council to review its contractual position and to explore what remedies it may have in the resolution of the issues arising.”
The report adds the delay to the construction of the Eco Park is not currently resulting in additional costs to the council. However, it notes that as the delay continues, the risks associated with the contract are increasing.
The council is yet to receive £63 million of a waste infrastructure grant worth a total of £205 million due to concerns associated with the delay. Surrey expects the grant to be reinstated if the Eco Park is delivered.
‘Extremely protracted’
Councillor Tom Oliver, leader of Surrey council, told the cabinet meeting: “This has become an extremely protracted contract and facility. There is no question that there is frustration on all parts.”
Cllr Oliver said four options to resolve the lengthy delays were being considered, but these were deemed “contractually sensitive” and were discussed by the cabinet in private.
“This has become an extremely protracted contract and facility”
“We have commissioned a review and we have had legal advice on our options and this is being shared with Suez. There are conversations with Suez on a very regular basis on issues arising from this contract, but I think we’re now clear on what those options look like,” Cllr Oliver added. “We all want to see this resolved and we will now push forward as quickly and as firmly as we possibly can to achieve that.”
Surrey’s cabinet member for environment and planning Mike Goodman told a select committee meeting in June that any future waste treatment arrangement would be “very different” to the existing contract with Suez, which expires in 2024 (see letsrecycle.com story).
Gasifier
A spokesperson for Suez told letsrecycle.com: “The first testing of waste in the gasifier took place in late September 2019 and since then we have continued to work with Surrey county council and our contractors, M+W Group, to ensure that the facility is operating optimally and meets the expectations of everyone involved.
“Since we began testing waste in the process, we have faced some delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic and technical difficulties which are to be expected with a plant of this complexity. We remain confident that the Eco Park will be successfully delivered to the required standard.”
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