UPDATED: Site preparation for Javelin Park incinerator construction due to start in matter of weeks

The start date on Urbaser Balfour Beatty’s (UBB) planned energy-from-waste plant near Haresfield follows three years of delays.

But with a series of complex legal challenges out of the way, the derelict site will be readied in June – with construction due to follow later in the year.

The controversial plant is being built under a contract worth £500 million between Gloucestershire County Council and a consortium of Spanish-owned Urbaser and civil engineering firm Balfour Beatty.

The facility, which will dispose of the household waste of Gloucestershire’s 600,000 residents, will take a further three years to build.

Javier Peiro, general manager for Urbaser Balfour Beatty (UBB), said “We are starting site preparation works next month, and then construction of the facility later in the year.

“The Javelin Park Energy from Waste facility will take approximately three years to build and, once up and running, it will help divert up to 92 per cent of Gloucestershire’s waste from landfill.

“Through the Community Liaison Group we have been talking to the local community about the preparation and construction periods and will continue to do so as we work towards delivering the facility and its benefits.’’ UBB say the facility will generate enough electricity to power around 26,000 homes and employ around 40 people.

The contractor had originally set a deadline to have the plant up and operational by March 2016.

But this date was pushed back after strong opposition to the development, including an unsuccessful Judicial Review from Stroud District Council last year.

This was the last of a number of challengers from environment campaigners and council’s, who fought the plant every step of the way since the contract was agreed in 2013.

They strongly oppose the scale, cost and environmental effect of the incinerator, which will be built off Bath Road in Haresfield, close to junction 12 of the M5 motorway.

In November, county councillors agreed to inject an additional £17 million into the project, due to an increase in costs associated with the delays involved in pushing through the planning proposals.

Despite the project edging closer to completion, a rival recycling project to the incinerator is now gathering pace.

Environment initiative Community R4C is raising money to support the creation of a recycling plant near Stroud.

Born out of the embers of the anti-incinerator campaign, the community-led scheme is hoping its rival centre will make Javelin Park obsolete.

This mechanical biological treatment (MBT) facility would also deal with the county’s household waste. But rather than burning it, CR4C says it can extract up to 90 per cent for recycling.

The initiative says this will be far greener, smaller, and much more cost effective than incineration.

Tom Jarman, director at CR4C said: “It is very clear that continuing with the incinerator is ‘head in the sand’ policy, ignoring the reality that there is no need for it, it is much too expensive and we are locking ourselves into a hugely expensive and inflexible plant that will burn recyclables and waste 80 per cent of the energy available.

"Our plans are progressing well, building the investment, supply and customer partnerships required to build our plant.

“We remain on target to be operational in 2018, making the incinerator obsolete before it has taken its first tonne of waste.

“Once operational we believe all district councils will send their waste to us to meet their obligations not to incinerate recyclable material as laid out in the waste regulations 2011.

"We deliver a flexible solution that will encourage and build a circular economy in Gloucestershire and will be an exemplar of what can be done by treating waste as a resource, and working to deliver local economic and community benefits from minimising waste."

The project is currently seeking to secure funding through a ‘community share’ scheme.

In recent week sit has received backing from environmentally-focused celebrities such as the celebrated British actor Jeremy Irons, who has personally invested I the scheme and heads up a promotional video on their website.

Labour district councillor Paul Denney lamented the construction of the incinerator, saying it was “a 19th century solution for a 21st century problem”.

“We the people of Gloucestershire will be half a billion worse off and have our environment damaged even more,” said the councillor for Cam West.

“Stroud District Council did what it could but it wasn't enough.”