Yorkshire councils settle legal action with Defra over waste credits

Two local authorities have settled their judicial review claim with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs over the withdrawal of £62.1m in waste infrastructure credits.

Bradford and Calderdale councils had claimed that Defra withdrew the credits without prior warning or consultation and just months before construction was about to start on the site.

Together with a consortium of companies, the councils were planning to build a resource recovery facility at Bowling Back Lane, Bradford. The procurement was terminated following Defra’s decision.

Bradford and Calderdale said they had made “a number of attempts” to secure a negotiated settlement with the Government, but Defra had only recently put forward substantive proposals.

Cllr Andrew Thornton, Bradford’s Executive Member for Environment and Sport, said: “We took legal action because we felt that Defra should be held to account for a decision that has cost our tax payers millions of pounds.



“We had a strong case in seeking the judicial review and felt that it was important to expose the full extent of Defra's secret review of waste management projects. However, the council has to balance the cost of legal action against the potential benefit that might arise and we have therefore agreed to settle the case out of court.

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Cllr Barry Collins, Calderdale’s Cabinet Member for Economy and Environment, added: “Withdrawal of government support has terminated a project that promised reliable recycling of waste, green energy generation and local employment. As a council we will now review our alternative options for the future.”

News of the settlement comes just days after North Yorkshire County Council and City of York Council withdrew their application for a judicial review after Defra’s decision to remove £65m in waste infrastructure credits for the Allerton Waste Recovery Park.

The two councils insisted that they had a strong case, but suggested that pursuing it “would not be in the public interest” as there was no prospect of Defra reinstating funding.