Attempts by residents and Westbury Town Council to get Wiltshire Council to terminate its Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) contract with Hills Waste have failed, with the authority confirming it will proceed with variations to the contract.
During the budget-setting process, residents and the town council called on the council to end the agreement, with the Conservative group proposing this as part of their alternative budget. The Liberal Democrat-led budget narrowly passed on 24th February.
Wiltshire Council previously said the £19.8 million termination fee makes ending the agreement “unaffordable”. Campaigners argue the contract is central to the financial viability of the proposed incinerator.
Wiltshire Council has now outlined its next steps to proceed with a contract variation, designed to align the contract with lower waste tonnages from upcoming food waste collections.
Councillor Ian Thorn, Leader of Wiltshire Council said, “The Northacre Renewable Energy (NRE) from Waste (EFW) facility is a private development, not a council project. Our 2013 agreement with Hills relates to a landfill‑diversion contract which runs until 2038, under which a local Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) facility is provided. This contract provides material for onward use in energy recovery facilities in Europe and the UK. The MBT contract governs the treatment of non‑recyclable waste at the Northacre MBT facility. It does not create any obligation for the council to build or operate an incinerator, and the £19m figure referenced in recent reporting relates only to the projected cost of exiting the MBT contract early – not an incinerator contract and would be more in the region of £28m due to costs of borrowing.
“The cabinet‑endorsed proposal is simply to vary the existing MBT contract to align with the reduction of tonnages associated with the implementation of food waste collections, with the expectation of those collections to be processed separately in Anaerobic Digestion facilities in 2027. The NRE EFW project is not a council‑led development, if built, managing waste locally would reduce transport distances, lower costs, and generate energy closer to home.”
In the budget meeting on 24th February, Cllr Ian Thorn previously committed to finding a solution to concerns about the contract, saying, “No stone will be left unturned to find a solution to the concerns about this proposal. No raised expectations but I will commit to looking again at the options.”
Following this, Westbury’s Mayor, Cllr Jane Russ, welcomed the commitment, saying the town council would continue to seek confirmation and updates on the process.
Pictured: Northacre Mech-
anical Biological Treatment (MBT) plant. Picture credit: Trevor Porter
