To Russell Goodway re Prosiect Gwyrdd contract with Viridor

Prosiect Gwyrdd contract with Viridor

Dear Cllr Goodway,

We believe that you as chair of PG take ultimate responsibility for the key financial issues being properly checked prior to signing the huge contract with Viridor.

The answers on two basic financial issues appear to be outstanding  

1. State Aid – the risk of the European Commission ruling the 25% WG subsidy to be illegal has not been accessed by Accounting officers

2. No updated Value-for-Money assessment has been made, neither by the Project or by the WG review.

You should be aware that the National Audit Office has just announced it is investigating three 25-yr incinerator contracts in England www.nao.org.uk/press-releases/defras-oversight-pfi-waste-projects/;

also that Defra withdrew WIC (waste infrastructure credits) last week for the Norfolk CC’s incinerator, putting Norfolk CC in trouble over their recent 25-yr contract  www.letsrecycle.com/news/latest-news/councils/defra-withdraws-ps169m-norfolk-efw-funding

You may have seen that EdF yesterday specified the State Aid issue as needing a decision before they sign the Hinkley Point nuclear deal.

We question that the Project officers are capable of giving appropriate advice on these issues and suggest appropriate independent experts should be consulted, eg. the WAO who are already considering the PG contract.

From Cardiff Against the Incinerator CATI 

Letter to Russell Goodway but no reply

Prosiect Gwyrdd contract with Viridor

Dear Cllr Goodway,

We believe that you as chair of PG take ultimate responsibility for the key financial issues being properly checked prior to signing the huge contract with Viridor.

The answers on two basic financial issues appear to be outstanding  

1. State Aid – the risk of the European Commission ruling the 25% WG subsidy to be illegal has not been accessed by Accounting officers

2. No updated Value-for-Money assessment has been made, neither by the Project or by the WG review.

You should be aware that the National Audit Office has just announced it is investigating three 25-yr incinerator contracts in England www.nao.org.uk/press-releases/defras-oversight-pfi-waste-projects/;

also that Defra withdrew WIC (waste infrastructure credits) last week for the Norfolk CC’s incinerator, putting Norfolk CC in trouble over their recent 25-yr contract  www.letsrecycle.com/news/latest-news/councils/defra-withdraws-ps169m-norfolk-efw-funding

You may have seen that EdF yesterday specified the State Aid issue as needing a decision before they sign the Hinkley Point nuclear deal.

We question that the Project officers are capable of giving appropriate advice on these issues and suggest appropriate independent experts should be consulted, eg. the WAO who are already considering the PG contract.

From Cardiff Against the Incinerator CATI 

Viridor the preferred bidder for Cardiff Bay incinerator shortlisted for Oxford incinerator

BBC NEWS | England | Oxfordshire | Waste incinerator companies named
The companies shortlisted to build a waste incinerator in Oxfordshire are named.
Viridor Waste Management proposes to a site at Ardley in Bicester, while the Waste Recycling Group chose Abingdon's Sutton Courtenay as its location.
A spokesman for Oxford Friends of the Earth said the county council's decision to tender a contract for the incinerator flies in the face of public opposition and sound environmental policy.

Councillors to visit other waste sites
Norwich Evening News - Norwich,England,UK
Councillors who will make a decision on whether to build an incinerator in Norfolk are to visit three plants to see how other counties are finding a way ...
Rob Whittle, from campaign group NAIL2 (Norfolk Against Incineration and Landfill), said the councillors should visit a plant which combined MBT with anaerobic digestion, even though there is not one currently operating in the country.

He said: “There is a plant which uses anaerobic digestion in Ludlow and ones which have both in Germany. If they really want to get a rounded view then they should go to Germany. I think the visits they are currently doing will skew the process from the start and smooth the way for the incinerator operators.”