News: Call for final tenders for local waste scheme

The call for final tenders will be issued shortly for a waste facility on land at Bolton Road, Manvers, in Rotherham. These will now be judged according to a fixed set of criteria and a preferred bidder will be chosen early in the New Year.

Two leading specialist waste organisations – SITA Lend Lease and 3SE, a consortium of Shanks Group plc and SSE (Scottish and Southern Energy plc) – have put forward different proposals to deal with the waste.

£77.4m of Private Finance Initiative (PFI) funding has been secured from central government's Waste Infrastructure Development Programme to deliver the development.

Most leftover waste ends up in landfill, but councils across the country must reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill, or face hefty fines.

The 3SE partnership will use proven waste treatment technology at the site to produce a renewable and green fuel for use at Scottish and Southern Energy's Ferrybridge site. The "green"' energy produced can then be used by the region's residents and businesses.

SITA Lend Lease's proposal is to develop a modern and high-tech recycling and energy recovery centre at Bolton Road, Manvers, which will be called the Dearne Valley Treatment and Energy Centre (DVTEC). This facility will have two main parts: a recycling area and an energy recovery area.

A new Project Director has also been appointed to take the project through to the next stage of the PFI process. John Holden-Ross of APSE (Association of Public Sector Excellence) is a lawyer who specialises in procurement and major PFI schemes, including waste management.

BDR Waste Partnership chair, Cllr Richard Russell, paid tribute to the work of former Project Director Geoff Birkett.

He said: "Geoff has done a great job to bring the project to this important milestone and the Project Board have placed on record their thanks and appreciation. "From this stage onwards different skills are needed to bring the project to fruition, and we extend a warm welcome to John Holden-Ross who has a great deal of experience in this field."

The chosen scheme will be subject to planning permission, and there will be a lengthy consultation and planning process when local residents will be able to make their views known.

BDR website

Images: bdronline.co.uk