Gloucestershire pumps extra £17 million into Javelin Park EfW

Urbaser Balfour Beatty is to receive a further £17 million to develop its Javelin Park energy from waste (EfW) plant, following a three-year delay to construction. Based near Haresfield, the controversial facility is due to treat 150,000 tonnes of municipal refuse as part of a £500 million contract between Gloucestershire county council and the Spanish-owned firm. The Javelin Park facility will treat 150,000 tonnes of waste per year when it its completed in 2019 The council and UBB agreed construction of the plant in February 2013, with an initial view for services to be up and running by 2016. However, the project has suffered from delays when the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) was forced to step in and uphold planning permission for the site earlier this year. A judicial review launched by Stroud district council to contest development of the site was also rejected in July this year. Construction is now due to go ahead in March 2016, with full operations not expected until 2019. A mechanism within the contract means that UBB must set out a revised project plan and timeline following a delay of two years or more – which in turn has resulted in an increase in costs for the county council.