Essex County Council has been warned that it may not be adequately planning for the future of waste treatment in the county.

The council and the operator of a Basildon waste treatment plant under a PFI arrangement are currently utilising contractual and dispute mechanisms to resolve issues that have occurred during the commissioning phase.

Both parties are presently engaged in litigation, with a court trial commencing next month.

However in an audit carried out by consultancy BDO on  the level of risk the council is carrying, the county council has been told there is a risk of insufficient arrangements in place to plan for the future of waste treatment if decisions are put on hold pending the outcome of legal proceedings.

Residual waste generated by the county has been processed under a 25-year PFI agreement worth up to £919 million by the Urbaser Balfour Beatty-run Eco Tovi waste processing plant.

It was designed to convert 420,000 tonnes of mixed waste into fuel which could then be burned. But the plant is still in the testing phase, three years after it was due to be up-and-running.

It is now at the centre of a major dispute between Essex County Council and Urbaser Balfour Beatty (UBB) over claims it is not working properly.

Based on UBB’s annual returns, submitted to the Environment Agency in accordance with its environmental permit, the total volume of waste processed at the facility in 2017/18 was approximately 269,000 tonnes.

The volume predicted by the county council for 2018/19 is 368,189 tonnes, still well below its design capacity.

UBB, which is due to appear in court next month to challenge the council's legal bid to terminate the contract, claims the council is sending “the wrong type of waste” to the plant.

A report to the audit, governance and standards committee, heard on Tuesday, said: “There is a risk that the council may not be adequately planning for the future of waste treatment in the county, including making informed decisions based on expected or possible scenarios, as it awaits the outcome of the forthcoming court trial.”

However BDO’s Barry Pryke added: “Our risk assessment is to identify the risks that our conclusion will be incorrect.

“It is not directly that your arrangements are adequate.”

Essex County Council has been approached for comment.