Borough takes action over grant of PFI credits to county incinerator scheme

King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council this month formally lodged papers with the High Court applying for permission to judicially review the Environment Secretary’s decision to grant waste infrastructure credits for Norfolk County Council’s incinerator scheme.

Caroline Spelman, Secretary of State for Defra, had initially said in November 2011 that a key criterion for the scheme had not been met. The minister said she continued to be concerned about the large volume of objections to the proposal.

The Environment Secretary also noted that King’s Lynn and West Norfolk had withdrawn its support for the Waste Strategy for the area, and felt that the strategy should be revised to look at other technologies and practices.

However, on 18 January 2012 Spelman decided to award the relevant PFI credits, allowing the incinerator plan to proceed. The project will be located at Saddlebow, near King's Lynn.

Cllr Nick Daubney, Leader of King's Lynn & West Norfolk: "We have not taken this step lightly. We have received the advice of our QC, and have considered the evidence before us and it remains our contention that the Secretary of State has failed to demonstrate or evidence the reason for her change of mind."

Cllr Daubney claimed that the points raised by the Environment Secretary had not been addressed.

"We believe that to grant public money to finance such an ill-conceived project, which is clearly unwanted by the very people who will end up paying for it, is just wrong,” he said.

King’s Lynn and West Norfolk is to base its challenge on the argument that at the date that the Environment Secretary made her decision, criterion 6 of the policy document headed Criteria for Securing Waste PFI Credits, had not been met.

Criterion 6 states: "Proposals should demonstrate that other relevant authorities, the public, and interested parties have been consulted and that there is a broad consensus supporting a recognised long term waste management strategy which is reflected in the proposed solution."

The borough council will put forward four main grounds as part of its challenge:

  1. The 'broad consensus' did not exist. Evidence for this included that: King’s Lynn and West Norfolk had withdrawn from the Waste Strategy; Norwich City Council had voiced opposition to any form of incineration in Norfolk; a local poll conducted by the borough council which saw a 93% ‘no’ vote on a 65% turnout; and there was opposition from local MPs.
  2. There was no unity of opinion amongst the authorities as at 18 January 2012.
  3. There were two elements to Criterion 6 - that there was broad consensus in the support of the Waste Management Strategy, and that the project was consistent with the strategy. “The strategy itself is technology neutral and therefore support for the strategy does not indicate support for a particular technology,” the council said. “The wording of Criterion 6 requires that the consensus be reflected in the proposed solution. With Norwich City Council clearly opposed to incineration in Norfolk, clearly this consensus does not exist”.
  4. There was no consensus at the time of the decision.

Philip Hoult