The settlement would see UBB demolish the facility and return the empty site to the county council.
If agreed, the council then expects the demolition would be concluded “in the coming months”.
Formed by waste management company Urbaser and infrastructure group Balfour Beatty, UBB signed a PFI contract with Essex in 2012 to design, build, and operate an MBT facility in Basildon across a 28-year period (see letsrecycle.com story).
The deal was said to be worth £800 million over its lifetime and the facility was to process 417,000 tonnes of residual waste a year.
In some of the court documents on the dispute between the two parties, the facility was estimated to cost £100 million to construct.
Essex and UBB have been in a dispute for some time over what the authority describes as “a number of significant performance issues” relating to the facility’s design.
Essex referred the matter to the High Court to decide and, following a trial in 2019, judgment was given in June 2020, when the council was awarded costs and damages (see letsrecycle.com story).
The MBT facility subsequently ceased operating that same month and has not processed waste since.
‘Best solution’
According to a contract transparency note published yesterday (16 March) by Essex county council, “the facility in question did not pass the acceptance tests specified in the contract which led to the Authority seeking to terminate the contract as well as commencing litigation against the contractor.”
The note says the demolition of the facility and several other additional works to restore the site to its pre-contractual position are “essential” to allow for future redevelopment.
The note adds that the plans form an “integrated part” of a planned settlement agreement between Essex and the UBB which will draw the litigation between the parties “to a conclusion”.
Cllr Malcolm Buckley, Essex’s cabinet member for waste reduction and recycling, said: “For some time we have been in discussions with the owner and operator of the MBT facility to resolve the ongoing dispute.
“We are currently exploring the best solution for Essex taxpayers to bring this matter to a close in a timely fashion and ensure we get the empty site back in a safe condition.”
Essex says it only ever paid for waste treated at the MBT facility and paid nothing towards its design and construction.
Receivership
According to Companies House, UBB Waste (Essex) Limited has been in receivership since shortly after the High Court’s judgement in 2020.
The London-based FRP Advisory Group is UBB’s administrator, with Geoffrey Rowley and David Shambrook handling the process.
When contacted by letsrecycle.com, UBB and the FRP Advisory Group declined to comment due to the ongoing legal process surrounding the facility.
Essex
Representing an estimated population of 1.8 million, Essex county council had a household waste recycling rate of 49.8% in the 2020/21 financial year.
In December 2019, Essex county council announced a contract to send 200,000 tonnes of refuse derived fuel (RDF) produced at the MBT plant to landfill (see letsrecycle.com story).
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