The proposed incinerator site at Saddlebow. Picture: Ian Burt.

Norfolk County Council signs contract with Cory Wheelabrator for King’s Lynn incinerator

by DAN GRIMMER Wednesday, February 8, 2012
3:26 PM

Norfolk County Council has finally signed a contract with Cory Wheelabrator to build and run an incinerator in King’s Lynn.

The council cabinet agreed in March last year to award the contract for the Willows Power and Recycling plant at Saddlebow.

But the contract remained unsigned until yesterday, as the council waited to find out whether the government would provide £91m of waste credits for the scheme.

The council says the plant is vital to deal with the county’s waste, with the threat of fines for landfill looming, and says it will save millions of pounds a year.

But campaigners have concerns over emissions from the plant, with 65,000 people who took part in a poll organised by West Norfolk Council saying they did not want it.

The plant still needs to get planning permission, a decision which will be made by the county council’s own planning committee.

It also needs to secure a permit to operate from the Environment Agency, while West Norfolk Council is seeking a judicial review of the Department for Food and Rural Affair’s decision to award the waste credits.

• See tomorrow’s EDP for the full story.

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35 comments

Jack, your point is nonsensical. How can I complain about something that I don't complain about?

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Peter J

Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Peter J you say that you don't complain about pollution, yet you are on here complaining to others every day trying to inflict a dioxin belching monster on King's Lynn.

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Jack

Monday, February 13, 2012
LFB, what exactly would you like me to say in answer to your question? Yes I would like an incinerator near me? If I answer in this way will it make you feel better? Perhaps not. Perhaps in future you should not ask ridiculous questions. The simple fact is that infrastructure like this, infrastructure that is necessary and that pollutes, is necessary and therefore has to be built somewhere. I spend every day of my life breathing in exhaust fumes from cars, but I don't complain about it because people need to drive. It's the price you pay for living in a developed country. If you don't like an incinerator being 1 mile downwind from your house, you have the right to move elsewhere.

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Peter J

Monday, February 13, 2012
peter j So you are one of those majority who want a incinerater, as long as it is in King's Lynn, and not built near you.I am 70 year old pensioner and live 1 mile downwind from the proposed site. Also there are five primary and infant schools within 2 miles. A gypsy site with children, which is within a 1000 yards downwind.This will affect the young and the elderly who are the most vulnerable. You cannot smoke in a public place,but they can build a incinerater with a stack 278.87 feet (85 m) high, right on the edge of King's Lynn with a population of( 41,000,)emitting millions of toxic particles contaminating the air we breathe.Furthermore there is all the bottom and fly ash,generated from domestic,+(90,000 tons of commercial,and toxic industrial waste), which will go into hazardous landfill sites,about 30% (27,000 tons)per year of the total tonnage will leach into the groundwater for 25 years. If Carol Spellman is a mother and has elderly parents,or grandparents, she may give a thought for the Mothers and children ,and their elderly parents throughout King's Lynn & West Norfolk.District

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LFB

Sunday, February 12, 2012
peter j So you are one of those majority who want a incinerater, as long as it is in King's Lynn, and not built near you.I am 70 year old pensioner and live 1 mile downwind from the proposed site. Also there are five primary and infant schools within 2 miles. A gypsy site with children, which is within a 1000 yards downwind.This will affect the young and the elderly who are the most vulnerable. You cannot smoke in a public place,but they can build a incinerater with a stack 278.87 feet (85 m) high, right on the edge of King's Lynn with a population of( 41,000,)emitting millions of toxic particles contaminating the air we breathe.Furthermore there is all the bottom and fly ash,generated from domestic,+(90,000 tons of commercial,and toxic industrial waste), which will go into hazardous landfill sites,about 30% (27,000 tons)per year of the total tonnage will leach into the groundwater for 25 years. If Carol Spellman is a mother and has elderly parents,or grandparents, she may give a thought for the Mothers and children ,and their elderly parents throughout King's Lynn & West Norfolk.District

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LFB

Sunday, February 12, 2012
It was always going to be built, these council members have power over the people of Norfolk and will do whatever they want, irrespective of the views of the people. It is the way a great many decisions are made in the UK nowadays by those in local and national government. No doubt when the the local and national elections come, they will be returned to power, people have short memories and as usual there will be many sweetners in the run up to the elections.

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Port Watcher

Friday, February 10, 2012
Campaigners believe in protecting the unborn from mercury poisoning, we want to protect our children, our enivironment nature and wildlife. We will not stop fighting for justice.

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Maggie

Friday, February 10, 2012
I think an aweful lot of people are missing one of the main issues here and that is PFI money. All we keep hearing about is how much these deals actually cost the taxpayer - just look at the N&N hospital as an example. They are disastrously bad value for money. And to sign up to a deal for 25 years seems incredible, after all in the next few years technological advances will find better and cheaper ways to deal with rubbish - but Norfolk won't be able to take advantage because Mr Murphy will have tied us in to an expensive option. I despair at trying to get a straightforward answer to the question of why we need this incinerator

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smithrob

Friday, February 10, 2012
Peter J, we have members of councils, county and borough, who are fuelled by power and greed, leaders become power crazed dictators - why should the public have to wait until the end of their elected term, because the other greedy members find the carrot to tempting or do not have a spine?

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Honest John

Friday, February 10, 2012
Peter J, we have members of councils, county and borough, who are fuelled by power and greed, leaders become power crazed dictators - why should the public have to wait until the end of their elected term, because the other greedy members find the carrot to tempting or do not have a spine?

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Honest John

Friday, February 10, 2012
Norfolk County Council cabinet members have let the Norfolk people down. They are failures and they know it. Peoples health should be paramount. How can it be right to propose the worst type of waste disposal near a large population and near the largest nature reserve in Britain. Shame on them, they should all resign.

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Maggie

Friday, February 10, 2012
Ingo, you have missed my point. The statutes and tenets of democracy as followed in this country are based on our - the public's - ability to unelect those who don't do their job. In a little over a year, the people of Norfolk will have this opportunity. It is necessary for them to have a term in office in order for the people to make an informed decision. What you seem to be after is a Swiss-style, let's-vote-on-every-little-thing version of democracy. While this is a great system, implementing such huge institutional change in Britain would take far longer than any of the challengers to the incinerator has.

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Peter J

Friday, February 10, 2012
Peter J., the majority made their mandate very clear when they decided to re-use reduce and recycle and those you admire as laudable, had an agenda to incinerate, the lazy option, since well before 1997, without ever having asked this question at election time, it was deemed to risky. The majority support you are talking of does not exist, its not true. Nobody in Norfolk would want an incinerator polluting their environment. Now they have really done it because now we all are liable for this damage. Parish councils have now every reason to act against this unmandated decision of our district and County council leaders, a cabal of less than a hundred, because NCC has now clearly broken its contract with the electorate. Nobody should impose pollution on people's life's like a tribal leader, just because they are lazy, compromised and unable to honour our contract with them, no, thats not democracy.

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ingo wagenknecht

Friday, February 10, 2012
Ingo, to answer your question, yes it is democracy. Despite what many people on here seem to think, 'democracy' is not politicians simply doing what a subsection of the public want (usually based, as in this case, on populism). Rather, it is about politicians doing what they were elected to do, and facing the consequences if the public don't like it. Cllrs should be applauded to standing up to the minority (albeit, rather loud) of people who oppose this scheme in the interests of the majority. It is EXACTLY what democracy should be.

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Peter J

Friday, February 10, 2012
Ingo, to answer your question, yes it is democracy. Despite what many people on here seem to think, 'democracy' is not politicians simply doing what a subsection of the public want (usually based, as in this case, on populism). Rather, it is about politicians doing what they were elected to do, and facing the consequences if the public don't like it. Cllrs should be applauded to standing up to the minority (albeit, rather loud) of people who oppose this scheme in the interests of the majority. It is EXACTLY what democracy should be.

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Peter J

Friday, February 10, 2012
We will not forget who did this when the elections come around again, you may think we are stupid, you may treat us as if we are, but he who laughs last.............

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LR Series 2A

Thursday, February 9, 2012
Oh dear Nemesis. That one would get you cast into the outer darkness. I used the words High Court Judge and very annoyed. In fact a very annoyed High Court Judge. That got me banned.

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alecto

Thursday, February 9, 2012
What happened to the entry that I posted this morning? Was it because I used the word B*rr*tt?

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Nemesis

Thursday, February 9, 2012
If they get the incinerator they will get their promised payout, they won't be around to care about elections. They'll only get a bit of the £20million once it's been paid out, and it will be much smaller - we look to take it back through the proceeds of crime. How much will a new wing at HMP cost to house them all.

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Honest John

Thursday, February 9, 2012
See if the people who run NCC think that the people of norfolk especially Kings Lynn area are important when it comes to the election see how many keep their seats & easy living

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foxy52

Thursday, February 9, 2012
This is democracy? First they ask us how we want our waste organised and we answered by reusing, reducing and recycling, twice. Then our representatives went a away and did nothing for ten years, their recycling rate is mere average and nothinbg was prepared, but plans were made to foist incineration on us. Why were we consulted in the first place? why do 65.000 plus votes against not count? Because it is a shady deal done by cllr.s who seemingly have been compromised. Cllr. Murphy is responsible so is Ms. Steward. Roll on the elections, get ready and select some Independent candidates, everywhere.

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ingo wagenknecht

Thursday, February 9, 2012
If you read the longer version of this article in the newspaper today, you will se that Borrett is now trying to maintain that the £20.3m penalty clause only applies if NCC withdraws from the contract, and that refusing planning permission does not amount to withdrawing! Which planet is he from? We have all seen the Cabinet papers and know the truth.

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Nemesis

Thursday, February 9, 2012
This EDP is good in that it is factual, short and does not overplay the simple step taken. Those who are promting this as a major significant step are idiots! This contract has remained unsigned for 11 months, does that not concern you? NCC state the delay was waiting for the release of the credits, however, they know that BCKLWN are challenging that because DEFRA have broken their own criterion on several fronts by releasing the money. What it does mean to the tax payers of Norfolk is that if the contract now fails there is a legal contractual liability to give CW upto £20.3 million in compensation. As a person opposing the development I am simply writing to Eric Pickles asking for the project to be called in for an independednt planning inspector to decide it because NCC cannot bow be seen as the fit authority to decide this application. Nick Palmer and his planning team, and the councillors on the planning committee, will not be able to look at this proposal in an unbiased way because they now know if they reject it, however valid the reason for rejecting it, the Norfolk Taxpayer is going to have a bill of upto £20.3 million to pay.

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Joy, King's Lynn

Thursday, February 9, 2012
It just goes to show there is a problem with this application if the signing is nearly a year late. Mention of fines looming. Sounds like Cory Wheelabrator again for pollution and fraud. Honest John you missed out links with the Mafia. I expect this is why NCC are so passionate to sign!

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CleanAirPlease

Thursday, February 9, 2012
It just goes to show there is a problem with this application if the signing is nearly a year late. Mention of fines looming. Sounds like Cory Wheelabrator again for pollution and fraud. Honest John you missed out links with the Mafia. I expect this is why NCC are so passionate to sign!

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CleanAirPlease

Thursday, February 9, 2012
Cory Environmental were bought in March 2007 by Viking Consortium Holdings Ltd. In 2010 their liabilities were £435 million and their assets £142 million. Wheelabrator Technologies were in the middle of a lawsuit and Cory Environmental owners were trading insolvent so NCC decided to award them the contract. Now NCC are gifting them £20 million - do you honestly think this will go through? It won’t be worth the paper it’s written on.

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Honest John

Wednesday, February 8, 2012
I suspect this is the end of the Tory party in west Norfolk. Residents have had not representation. Lib-Dems and Labour have been distributing leaflets in preperation for the county elections, how can you ever trust the Tories again.

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Choice

Wednesday, February 8, 2012
I'm still waiting for an answer for why the MAJORITY of actual local people were ignored for the interests of others. Why weren't the outer Norwich incinerator built...

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Paul-Michael Ebbens

Wednesday, February 8, 2012
This was always going to be built. The plans were laid years ago. Cllr Daubney knew about it and Cllr Long at Kings Lynn was all for it until recently when he decided to play the public denial card. Now he says he is against it. No one can blame Cllr Derrick Murphy because in fact Long and Daubney were dealing with this before he even became a councillor and long before he joined Norfolk County Council. It is about time people got their facts straight. A bit odd then that now Daubney wants to waste a fortune of taxpayers money to fight a scheme that he was once in favour of. Seems more like he does not like Murphy rather than he does not like incinerators.

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Dickens

Wednesday, February 8, 2012
I don't think we will have to fork out on this - I think the inexperienced boys at NCC have finally dropped the clanger we've been waiting for. This could be a good day for Norfolk!

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Honest John

Wednesday, February 8, 2012
I get the same feeling Marigold. That penalty clause is going to cost us all dear but it's going to be worth it when Cllr Murphy and friends receive a sore bottom from m'learned friends once it's activated.

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Fenscape

Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Methinks a little baiting here from our friends in partnership! they always seem to be the first to comment? I guess we shall all have to fork out on the penalty clause now, but payback time will be soon with the elections.

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Marigold

Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Good thinking Norfolkblue, and whilst they're about it they can build it in Norwich - plenty of rubbish there - and after all the process is safe, and not too much traffic involved......... or so they tell us ?

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city-man

Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Never agreed with incineration, but at least I won't have to struggle with two bins if it is built. Most people I know have all said the same thing - we can stop recycling altogether because if burning rubbish is so clean then they can burn the lot. After all, just think of all that extra energy they can produce! And we only have to contend with the black bin, the green one can stay in the garage.

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smithrob

Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Thank god for that! At last the local press might have something else in apart from the incinerator which has got very boring ! Get it built and move on !

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norfolkblue

Wednesday, February 8, 2012