Westbury Northacre breakdown contributes to £6.7m council overspend

By Local Democracy Reporter Peter Davison with additional reporting by White Horse News

The breakdown at the Northacre waste treatment facility in Westbury has contributed to an £854,000 overspend in Wiltshire Council’s waste division, as the authority forecasts a total budget overspend of £6.7m this financial year. 

The Northacre Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) plant was closed for several week in July following the failure of a critical component on an internal crane. 

During this time, waste was transferred into landfill at the Lower Compton site near Calne, with Wiltshire Council paying landfill tax rather than a processing fee to Hills, who operate the MBT. 

A report to the council’s Cabinet ahead of its meeting on Wednesday 16th September said that the cost of sending waste to landfill is expected to exceed the budget by £854,000. The breakdown at the Westbury facility was cited as a significant contributing factor. 

Asked why taxpayers were being asked to foot the bill for a malfunction suffered by a private operator, Sarah Valdus, director for waste at Wiltshire Council, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service, “The forecast £854,000 landfill tax overspend covers more than July’s shutdown at the Westbury waste treatment facility. 

“It also includes further waste expected to go to landfill during planned and unplanned maintenance at Westbury and the Lakeside energy-from-waste facility over the rest of the year. 

“The council pays landfill tax and disposal charges when waste is diverted to landfill, instead of paying Hills the fee for processing for that waste.” 

The wider £6.7m overspend forecast is being driven by pressures across the council, including the cost of looking after vulnerable adults and children and increased staffing costs. 

Adult social care is forecast to overspend by £688,000, while children’s services and education face a projected overspend of £948,000. 

A further £2.95m overspend is forecast in corporate costs, attributed to planned savings proving difficult to deliver and higher financing costs. 

The council is also forecasting a £458,000 overspend in transport and highways, including additional costs for traffic regulation orders, consultancy and site inspections. 

The council has also given an update on its savings programme performance. It set a savings target of £27.7 million in 2026/27 – the largest in the council’s history. 

So far, more than £9.5 million of savings have already been delivered, with a further £10.2 million expected to be achieved. 

However, the council says there is some uncertainty around whether the remaining £8 million of identified savings can be fully delivered this year. 

Gavin Grant, Wiltshire Council’s cabinet member for finance, said, “An overspend, whether forecast or actual, is something we take very seriously, and my Cabinet colleagues and I will continue to work closely with senior officers and our hardworking staff to drive financial improvements. 

“There are areas where we can and will do better.” 

The projected overspend represents 1.2 per cent of the council’s £568 million budget.