A FAILED waste plant next to the A127 is set to be demolished, less than a decade after an estimated £100million was spent building it.

The Tovi Eco Park, a mechanical biological treatment plant in Courtauld Road, was agreed in 2012 between Essex County Council and UBB Waste (Essex) Ltd.

The contract - worth in total £800million - was to design, build and operate the plant, which processed black bag waste from across the county.

READ MORE >> Fish and Chip shop filled with smoke after fire breaks out

But the county council began legal action after deciding that the plant “did not pass the acceptance tests specified in the contract” and following a High Court battle the site has not run since June 2020.

Essex County Council has now proposed demolishing the plant and the land being returned to the council.

Malcolm Buckley, Tory cabinet member for waste reduction and recycling said: “For some time we have been in discussions with the owner and operator of the facility to resolve the ongoing dispute. We are currently exploring the best solution for Essex taxpayers to bring this matter to a close in a timely fashion and ensure we get the empty site back in a safe condition.”

When asked, Essex County Council would not say how much the episode had cost taxpayers, but a spokesman added: “Essex County Council only ever paid for waste treated at the MBT facility and has paid nothing towards its design and construction. Essex County Council is already undertaking a review of the county’s waste management strategy with its members and partners before consulting with residents on their views on the future of waste treatment in Essex.”

The original contract, which would have seen the plant run for 28 years, was signed in 2012. The facility was capable of processing up to 417,000 tonnes of waste a year.

But the council and UBB spent several years in dispute, with the case eventually going to the High Court in 2019. The county council was eventually awarded costs and damages in June 2020, after which the site stopped running.

A spokesman said: “Black bag waste will continue to be collected and disposed of via landfill as is currently the case.

Waste collected from households is only going to landfill as an interim measure. These interim measures will remain in place whilst an alternative solution is found. Any landfill site used by Essex County Council is strictly controlled by an environment permit which is administered by the Environment Agency.”