Call to review £500m burner contract
THE decision to award a £500 million contract for the proposed incinerator should be reviewed, according to 10 Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors.
They have called for Gloucestershire County Council to look again at this month's decision to award the contract to Urbaser Balfour Beatty for the Haresfield incinerator.
They believe the Conservative-run Cabinet at Shire Hall did not properly consider the council's scrutiny committee recommendation.
"Their report said that it was not sensible to award the waste contract for the incinerator until the planning permission was in place," said Councillor Lesley Williams (L, Stonehouse).
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"But the Cabinet just ignored the scrutiny committee's report and recommendation. We still don't know what financial liability Gloucestershire taxpayers could face if there is a planning delay or if the contract breaks down."
The call-in request will be considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee on Tuesday.
Council leader Mark Hawthorne said the move was a "political stunt".
"The procurement of a residual waste plant to deal with Gloucestershire's rubbish has been carried out for over five years, with many opportunities for councillors to examine the process," he said.
Comments
by zerowaster
Thursday, September 27 2012, 9:52AM
“This is the 'lazy' way for Mark Hawthorne not to engage in any debate about real concerns. Dismiss it as a 'political stunt' and end of story. He should be ashamed of himself. It also means that he will use the 3-line whip to ensure all his (uninformed and un-thinking) back-benchers oppose the call-in. That's democracy for you.”
by Lecorche
Thursday, September 27 2012, 8:33AM
“There have certainly been some stunts pulled by the County Council on this issue!”
by LordGagas
Thursday, September 27 2012, 8:24AM
“Balfour Beatty, one of the biggest contributors to the tory party”
by Bonkim2003
Thursday, September 27 2012, 7:29AM
“a political stunt!”