Resignation amid incinerator row
Plans for Cory Wheelabrator’s incinerator at King’s Lynn (currently subject of a public inquiry) are set to go ahead as planned, despite the resignation of Council Leader, Derrick Murphy.
Murphy, former Leader of the Conservative group at Norfolk County Council and vociferous incinerator supporter, resigned from his post on 1 February. He was brought before Norfolk County Council’s Standards Committee after being accused of seven cases of ‘breaching the councillor code of conduct’ and bringing the office of Leader of the Council into ‘disrepute’.
The committee found Murphy guilty of just one of the allegations: asking a political assistant to lie on his behalf.
It is alleged that Murphy, a virulent supporter of the proposed Kings Lynn incinerator, last April asked political assistant Kevin Vaughan to send a discrediting email to BBC Radio Norfolk about Nick Daubney.
Daubney, Leader of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Council and opponent of the incinerator, was scheduled to appear on the radio, and the email suggested that he was facing “a serious leadership challenge” and that his council had failed to procure any alternative waste treatment.
When the council began an internal investigation into the email (reportedly costing £35,000), Murphy then asked Vaughan to lie and claim that county councillors who serve on both Norfolk County and West Norfolk Councils had told him to send it.
‘Honour bound’ to pursue actions against council
Despite the committee only imposing three sanctions on Murphy for his breach of conduct (Murphy will receive a letter of censure; a report on his misconduct will be made to the full council; and he will undergo mandatory training in ethics and standards), Murphy has now resigned from his post, saying that he was ‘honour bound’ to take action against the council.
In his letter of resignation, Murphy wrote: ‘The hearing raised a number of very important issues which, I feel, I am honour bound to pursue against Norfolk County Council.
‘As a result, I think this will be incompatible with retaining my position as chairman of the Conservative Group, who decided to temporarily stand down as leader of Norfolk County Council until the standards committee hearing today.
‘Therefore, I am resigning as leader and chairman of the Conservative group… My first loyalty has always been to the Conservative Party and the last thing I would like to see is for me to become an issue in what will be a very hard fought election.’
Contention
The construction of an incinerator at the Willows Power and Recycling plant in Saddlebow, King’s Lynn has been a source of much contention within the county, with the borough of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk so opposed to it that it has taken the decision to withdraw from the county council’s waste strategy and withhold black bin waste from them in order to process their recycling themselves.
As such, the borough council has now entered into a 16-year conditional contract with Material Works which will see the waste management company construct a 35,000 tonnes per annum residual waste treatment facility in the area, combining anaerobic digestion and a ‘new’ polymerisation technique.
Indeed, on Thursday (7 February), it was announced that an independent report deemed the technology in the proposed recycling facility ‘sound’, thus fulfilling one of the conditions of the contract.
Speaking to Resource, Norfolk County Council's portfolio holder for Environment and Waste Bill Borrett, said: "I am happy to support the borough council's conditional contract with Material Works and pleased that the council is continuing to proceed with care by imposing such strict conditions on the contract.
"It's the county council's policy to increase the amount of genuine recycling in Norfolk and, after all, there is a million tonnes of waste generated here in Norfolk every year which the energy-from-waste project proposed for at Kings Lynn will only deal with a small proportion of.
"Essentially, the borough council is looking at a proposal which, if ever, will take years to come to fruition, given the need to secure planning permission, an environmental permit, end of waste approvals and qualify for recycling credits. There is also no firm commitment on what it will cost. It's a very complicated process getting a waste project off the ground.”
Artist's impression of the King's Lynn incinerator
Lack of confidence
The county council’s plans for the King’s Lynn incinerator has also gathered much opposition from local residents, who are concerned about the health effects the plant would have on residents, especially as they won’t even be using the plant’s facilities.
The incinerator is now the subject of a public inquiry after claims that the council ‘ignored’ King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council’s poll from April 2012, which saw 65,000 residents vote against the incinerator.
Speaking to Resource, Committee Member of King’s Lynn Without Incineration (KLWIN), Michael de Whalley, said: “We’re really hoping that the County Hall will now take a view that 65,000 plus of us who voted against the incinerator will be listened to, accept the situation, pull the plug on the public inquiry if they can and get on with working with the community.
“My hope is for a change in culture at County Hall – one which strives for greater openness and accountability. Norfolk County Council must respond more effectively to the wishes of Norfolk’s people and regain their trust. This includes working with West Norfolk to bring to fruition their superior solution.”
‘Important matters for external investigation’
Further to this, questions have arisen over the real motives of the council after Norfolk MP Henry Bellingham told Parliament that Norfolk County Council had intended to award its residual waste contract to a bid that was £45 million cheaper, but that on the day of the meeting, action was taken to award the contract to the Cory Wheelabrator consortium.
Vice Chairman of King’s Lynn Without Incineration (KLWIN), Mike Knights, told Resource: “When you consider things like £596 million pound contract being awarded on the spur of the moment to a £46 million more expensive bidder, I think there’s more important matters for the external investigation by Norfolk County Council than Councillor Murphy’s behaviour.
“Economically, [the incinerator] doesn’t make any sense, technologically it doesn’t make any sense, environmentally it doesn’t make sense. So on every level you care to look at it, it just cannot possibly be justified compared with the other technologies that are available.”
Project should be run “by the book”
On behalf of the county council, Borrett added: "I have always been determined to ensure that this project should be run ‘by the book’. Following a very long and detailed procurement which has been scrutinised in great detail by the government and the judiciary, as well as the county council, we signed a binding legal contract back in February 2012 for the provision of a plant which uses tried and tested technology to deal with waste.
"That scheme is currently awaiting scrutiny from the Secretary of State and if it is decided that it has been run ‘by the book’, then there is no opportunity for it to be cancelled.
"Then we can get on with delivering the savings of over £150,000 per week for the people of Norfolk."
Read more about the King’s Lynn incinerator.
