Incinerator deal could be 'too good to turn down'

Durham County Council's Reform UK leader Andrew Husband said its involvement would be decided by the end of the month

One of the councils involved in a waste incinerator deal said a decision on its continued involvement would come down to its "business case".

The Tees Valley Energy Recovery Facility (TVERF) is set to be built at Teesworks, near Grangetown, Redcar, and would take household waste from seven areas.

Durham County Council leader Andrew Husband said a new multi-million pound saving on the contract had been secured, so it would look to see if the deal was "too good to turn down".

The seven councils commissioning the TVERF - which also include Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton - said appointing operator Viridor had offered "significant savings".

Despite environmental opposition, Husband, of Reform UK, said: "We're going to make a decision based on the business case."

He said: "We're not going to make a decision based on net zero, that's not what we've been elected to do."

Husband said the council had still not committed either way, but that it would make the decision by the end of October.

Last month, he urged the councils involved to exit what he called a "horrible deal".

The Tees Valley Energy Recovery Facility is scheduled to open in 2029

TVERF, which would burn up to 450,000 tonnes of waste per year to generate energy, has received a permit from the Environment Agency but concerns have continued including a protest outside Durham's full council meeting.

Green party councillor Jonathan Elmer said plans were an "environmental disaster".

"What we're doing is burning rubbish, putting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and further threatening our recycling rate which is already very poor," he said.

Activists have campaigned for years against the building of the TVERF

Labour-led Newcastle City Council previously said withdrawing from the project would risk exposing the authority to financial penalties.

In a joint statement from the seven councils commissioning the TVERF, it said the appointment of Viridor had allowed the partner authorities to work with its chosen supplier to deliver further savings.

The partner councils said they planned to sign contracts in early 2026.

"These further discussions have resulted in additional cost-savings to the partner authorities of tens of millions of pounds over the duration of the contract," the statement added.

The project partners said there had been a commitment by Viridor to "invest millions back into the community and supply chain across the region".

Chosen operator Viridor said it would not comment due to being in the middle of a procurement process.