Biffa, Thalia, and Viridor compete to fix and run the Sinfin Waste Plant, aiming for completion by Winter 2031.
The firms will discuss their plans with the councils. These discussions will occur over the next six months, and a winning bid gets chosen in December. The plant should start running in June 2028 and is expected to fully work by winter 2031.
The councils argued about the plant’s costs, with the county sending the city a big invoice. The councils have now made an agreement. The invoice got withdrawn, but they won’t share details. The councils will spend tons of money, with getting the plant working as the goal.
The county council thinks they have a good plan. They say fixing the plant is a viable solution. They want a way to manage waste sustainably. The city council also wants a solution. This solution would dispose of waste, and it also needs to be cost-effective.
This whole plant saga began back in 2009. Two companies were hired to manage waste. They had to build a waste treatment plant in Sinfin. The plant should have diverted waste from landfills, with the project supposed to finish in 2017. But the plant failed testing, and the contract ended.
The councils started figuring out the contract’s value. This value was compensation for ending the deal abruptly. One company wanted a lot of money, roughly £187 million. The councils disagreed with that huge number and thought the compensation should be much lower. The councils and firms settled for £93.5 million. The councils stopped answering questions after the deal, but now the project is back on track again.