Preparation Works Under Way at Javelin Park as Urbaser Balfour Beatty Gets Ready for Construction in September 2016

Urbaser Balfour Beatty begin site preparation works at Javelin Park. The company is under contract and working with Gloucestershire County Council to build and operate the Energy from Waste facility. The facility will treat 190,000 tonnes of residual waste and generate 14.5 MW electricity for export.

This week, Urbaser Balfour Beatty (UBB) have begun site preparation works at Javelin Park in readiness for construction to begin in earnest in September 2016. The company has signed a contract with Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) to build and operate the Energy from Waste facility which will process around 190,000 tonnes of residual waste, that is waste left over after reuse, recycling and composting. Over 14.5MW electricity will be exported each year which is enough to power 25,000 homes, reduce carbon emissions by 40,000 tonnes, and save the county more than £150million over the life of the contract.

Preparatory works include installation of the perimeter fencing, security and access control and ground preparation involving levelling, construction laydown and working platforms. In addition, the company is preparing temporary pathways and construction vehicle routes and installing a temporary construction ‘village’ for those working on the project with CCTV footage across the site.

The project was granted planning permission in January 2015 followed by the contract in January 2016 and also has an environmental permit. Construction is likely to take up to 35 months and the facility is anticipated to be operational after commissioning in late 2019.

Speaking about the site preparation works, Andrew Bendall, Project Director for UBB, said:

“It is important that we prepare the site so that work can proceed and it is a standard preparatory procedure. We do not anticipate needing to generate large quantities of soil and rubble for off site disposal as we aim to use these for screening and amenity bunding on the site. We will provide regular project updates to local communities and interested stakeholders throughout the works. We have also set up a formal Community Liaison Group for the project through whom we engage directly with the communities and wider public.”

Currently over half of residents’ household waste is sent to landfill, which creates harmful green house gases and costs more than £10million in tax every year. Gloucestershire’s aim is to recycle 70 per cent of its household waste with remaining 30 per cent being dealt with at Javelin Park.

The Community Liaison Group meets regularly and is a public forum for feedback and discussion on the progress of the project. Minutes of the meetings will be published on UBB’s website.