Representation by Western Riverside Waste Authority (Western Riverside Waste Authority)
- Date submitted
- 14 June 2024
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
(1) We act for Western Riverside Waste Authority (WRWA) and have been instructed to submit relevant representations on its behalf in response to the proposed Development Consent Order (known as the Cory Decarbonisation Project) (DCO) submitted by the Applicant, Cory Environmental Holdings Limited (Cory). (2) WRWA is the statutory body responsible for the treatment of waste from four London Boroughs (Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth and Wandsworth). It supports development initiatives that enable WRWA (and its four London Boroughs) to decarbonise its waste management activities through the development of carbon capture and storage facilities. This is enhanced by the lower carbon footprint of waterborne traffic where such facilities are accessible by river. (3) However, WRWA objects in principle to the DCO for the reasons set out in this letter. Please also note that it is continuing to review the DCO application documentation with the intention that further detail will be provided at the written representation stage. We, therefore, reserve our client’s position to expand on this representation. (4) It should be noted that WRWA has contractual arrangements in place with Cory’s associated companies. WRWA entered into a waste management public private partnership contract (PPP Contract) with Cory Environmental Limited (CEL) in 2002 (and which was most recently varied in 2022). Under this PPP Contract, the Riverside Resource Recovery Energy from Waste Facility (Belvedere EfW) was constructed on a project finance basis by another Cory group company, Riverside Resource Recovery Limited (RRRL). WRWA is the cornerstone customer of the Belvedere EfW and RRRL. WRWA is RRRL’s lender and owner of last resort under quasi-Private Finance Initiative (PFI) arrangements. Without WRWA’s support, the Belvedere EfW would not have been able to have been constructed. (5) As part of the PPP Contract arrangements, WRWA was granted (i) a leasehold interest over part of the Belvedere EfW site (WRWA Lease), and (ii) rights in relation to other plots of land owned by RRRL (together the Site) as security for the waste disposal obligations accepted by RRRL in relation to WRWA’s waste stream. This security is considered essential to protect WRWA’s interests (which extend until 2046). In accordance with standard PFI terms, in certain circumstances, WRWA is required to take the freehold of the Site from RRRL and pay significant compensation at a predetermined level that is unrelated to the value or operational viability of the Site. WRWA is put at risk if any changes to the Site occur which devalue it, constrain its operations or redevelopment potential, or make the same dependent upon the consent of third parties. The WRWA Lease was taken, amongst other things, to prevent dispositions of the Site which have not been approved by WRWA. (6) The DCO proposes the acquisition of new rights over various plots of land at the Site. (7) The Applicant, CEL and RRRL are all associated companies and form part of the wider Cory group. The Secretary of State should be careful not to permit Cory to frustrate the PPP Contract, the WRWA Lease and other WRWA rights (all of which were freely agreed by the Cory group with WRWA, including to enable the development of the Belvedere EfW). Granting Cory compulsory acquisition powers over any part of the Site would allow Cory to sidestep the pre-agreed contractual procedures for dealing with changes to the Site. (8) The Applicant is seeking to move or encumber assets owned by one part of its group to the benefit of another part of its group without reference to the legitimate interests of other (non-Cory) stakeholders for the financial gain of the Cory group taken as a whole and to the potential detriment of the interests of other (non-Cory) stakeholders. To permit this would potentially prejudice treatment routes for future waste generated by WRWA (and its four London Boroughs). (9) WRWA is in early-stage discussions with the Cory group regarding the DCO but has not yet received any proposals from the Cory group regarding how to protect WRWA's (and its four London Boroughs') interests. It is hoped that a mutually acceptable solution will be negotiated, and the Examining Authority will be provided with any updates.