Suez has said it was “surprised” to see Surrey county council go public with its decision to enter into legal proceedings against the company over delays to the Surrey Eco Park.
Aerial view of the Eco Park, pictured in July 2018
In a cabinet member update to Surrey county council published on 16 March, the council announced that it had launched legal action against Suez after “exhausting all other options available”.
The Eco Park is set to be a collection of facilities including an anaerobic digestion (AD) facility and a gasifier. Building work on the Park began in 2015, but the facilities are still not fully operational.
The cabinet member report read: “We hope to bring this to a swift conclusion to allow us to move forward with the Eco Park and resolve the matter.”
It follows a report written in November by the council’s executive director for environment, transport and infrastructure, Katie Stewart, which said the council was “reviewing its contractual positions” with Suez as a result of the delays (see letsrecycle.com story).
Suez is developing the Eco Park to manage waste from Surrey households as part of its 25-year contract with the local authority, which was originally signed in 1999 and expires in 2024.
‘Surprised’
A spokesperson for SUEZ recycling and recovery UK told letsrecycle.com: “We were surprised to see the comments made regarding the Eco Park in the recent cabinet member update to Surrey county council.
“In a separate correspondence to residents, the council leader Tim Oliver has stated that Surrey county council will ‘not be using public communication as a means of airing detailed issues which are being addressed.’ In this instance we agree with this approach and, indeed, confidentiality obligations within the contract limit the extent to which we can comment.
“We remain committed to providing a safe, sustainable treatment solution for all of Surrey’s household waste and continuing to deliver an effective, high standard service through the network of twenty integrated waste management sites across Surrey, as we have done for over twenty years.”
Frustrations
The November report published by the council said that the contract and facility had become “extremely protracted with frustrations from all parties”.
It was then confirmed that “clear legal advice” had been sought on how to progress with the contract and that a review had been commissioned.
It reads: “Whilst the provision of a number of the services in the contract are on track, the delays to the delivery of the anaerobic digester (AD) and the gasifier have prompted the council to review its contractual position and to explore what remedies it may have in the resolution of the issues arising.”
The report added that the delay to the construction was not currently resulting in additional costs to the council, however it noted that as the delay continues, the risks associated with the contract are increasing.
Suez said in February 2020 that its Eco Park was making “steady progress”, and in the final stages of testing for the AD facility and gasification were underway.
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
