Issue - meetings

This report sets out progress with the delivery of the council’s waste strategy, including the Eco Park, since the Cabinet meeting on 30 October 2013.

The council and SITA entered into a contract variation following that Cabinet meeting and the construction contractor has commenced site preparation and detailed design work for the Eco Park.

Cabinet recognised in October 2013 that it would be necessary for SITA to secure a number of regulatory consents before work on the Eco Park could begin in earnest. Cabinet approved contractual mechanisms to take this into account.

Those contractual mechanisms provide for the work on the Eco Park to proceed in two phases. The first phase comprises design work, site preparation works and placing orders for long lead items. The second phase is the main construction phase.

In October 2013 it was anticipated that phase one would be completed by the end of March 2014 and phase two would commence at the beginning of July 2014 at which point it was thought that all the necessary consents would have been obtained.

Since October 2013, a potential land dispute has been satisfactorily resolved and consent has been given to divert a public footpath, necessary for the development. Final confirmation from government is still however required in respect of the variation to the planning consent and the environmental permit variation is still awaited from the Environment Agency.

Progress on obtaining these consents has been slower than was anticipated in October 2013, meaning that phase two of the Eco Park development will not commence in July 2014 as originally thought. Therefore in accordance with the recommendations set out in the minutes of that meeting, a further report detailing progress with the development of the Eco Park is being presented to Cabinet. 

[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Environment and Transport Select Committee]

1.         That the progress made since the last report in October 2013 be noted.

2.         That continuation with the delivery of the Eco Park Phase 1, as outlined in paragraph 5, limiting the commitment of expenditure until the necessary remaining consents are obtained, be agreed.

3.         That the Strategic Director of Environment and Infrastructure, Director of Finance and Director of Legal and Democratic services, in consultation with the Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment and Planning, continue to monitor progress and report back to Cabinet in the event of material changes to the risks and assumptions set out in this report and the October 2013 report and in particular, if the remaining outstanding consents are not obtained by the end of October 2014.

Reasons for Decisions:

The recommendations are necessary to maintain proper authority to proceed with the delivery of the Eco Park.

[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Environment and Transport Select Committee]

The Cabinet Member for Environment and Planning set out the progress with the delivery of the council’s waste strategy, including the Eco Park, since the Cabinet meeting on 30 October 2013.

He said that, in October 2013 it was anticipated that phase one would be completed by the end of March 2014 and phase two would commence at the beginning of July 2014 at which point it was thought that all the necessary consents would have been obtained.

Since October 2013, a potential land dispute had been satisfactorily resolved and consent has been given to divert a public footpath, necessary for the development but final confirmation from Government was still required in respect of the variation to the planning consent, with the environmental permit variation still awaited from the Environment Agency.

As progress on obtaining these consents had been slower than was anticipated in October 2013, meaning that phase two of the Eco Park development will not commence in July 2014 as originally thought therefore, in accordance with the recommendations set out in the minutes of that meeting, a further report detailing progress with the development of the Eco Park was being presented to Cabinet. 

He also highlighted that one of the benefits of the proposed Eco Park waste management processes was that it would offer an alternative to sending 95,000 tonnes of Surrey’s waste to landfill and that green electricity would be generated to power thousands of houses from rubbish that could not be recycled and would previously been buried in the ground.

RESOLVED:

1.         That the progress made since the last report in October 2013 be noted.

2.         That continuation with the delivery of the Eco Park Phase 1, as outlined in paragraph 5, limiting the commitment of expenditure until the necessary remaining consents are obtained, be agreed.

3.         That the Strategic Director of Environment and Infrastructure, Director of Finance and Director of Legal and Democratic services, in consultation with the Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment and Planning, continue to monitor progress and report back to Cabinet in the event of material changes to the risks and assumptions set out in this report and the October 2013 report and in particular, if the remaining outstanding consents are not obtained by the end of October 2014.

Reasons for Decisions:

The recommendations are necessary to maintain proper authority to proceed with the delivery of the Eco Park.