The Cabinet of Derbyshire County Council met on Wednesday 23 September 2026 to discuss the future of the Derby and Derbyshire Waste Treatment Centre (DDWTC). The meeting concluded with the approval of recommendations to withdraw from the project to rectify and operate the DDWTC, and instead to proceed with decommissioning the facility and seeking alternative waste disposal arrangements.

Outcome of Rapid Options Assessment into Future Use of The Derby and Derbyshire Waste Treatment Centre (DDWTC)

The Cabinet considered the outcome of a rapid options assessment into the future use of the Derby and Derbyshire Waste Treatment Centre (DDWTC) located on Sinfin Lane, Derby. The report detailed the long and complex history of the DDWTC project, which began in 2006 with the aim of providing a long-term solution for the treatment of residual household waste.

Following numerous challenges, including construction delays, the insolvency of a key technology provider, and contractual disputes, the original project agreement with Resource Recovery Solutions (Derbyshire) Limited (RRS) was terminated in August 2019. Since then, the Councils have incurred significant expenditure on asset preservation, litigation, and settlement, amounting to approximately £95.93 million for Derbyshire County Council alone.

A Full Business Case (FBC) in February 2023 identified Option 1 – to rectify and operate the DDWTC – as the preferred option, contingent on a successful procurement process. However, a subsequent competitive dialogue procurement process, which ran from December 2024 to May 2026, concluded without a final tender being submitted. This outcome indicated that the market was not prepared to accept the balance of risk and reward required to proceed with rectifying and operating the facility.

In light of this, an Alternative Options Assessment (AOA) was commissioned. The AOA concluded that no commercially viable route remained for rectifying and operating the DDWTC without the Councils accepting unacceptable levels of risk. Furthermore, the assessment found that alternative options involving partial use of the facility (Options 2, 3, and 4) did not offer a superior outcome to Option 5.

Option 5, which involves decommissioning the DDWTC and procuring alternative long-term residual waste treatment and disposal capacity from the market, was therefore identified as the only deliverable, affordable, and proportionate option from a risk perspective.

The Cabinet approved the following recommendations:

• To note the content of the report and its appendices, including the financial implications.
• Subject to Derby City Council also deciding to withdraw, Derbyshire County Council would withdraw from the project to rectify and bring the DDWTC into use, in accordance with Clause 18.2 of the Inter-Authority Agreement (mutual withdrawal).
• To adopt Option 5 as the preferred option, initiating the project to decommission the DDWTC and seek alternative disposal arrangements.
• To approve the Heads of Terms for varying the Inter-Authority Agreement between the Councils.
• To delegate authority to the Executive Director – Place, in consultation with the Director of Legal and Democratic Services, to finalise and execute the variation to IAA3.
• To delegate authority to the Executive Director – Place to procure the decommissioning and/or demolition of the DDWTC.
• To approve expenditure of up to £1.45 million from general reserves to fund the procurement of decommissioning services and the safe management of the DDWTC prior to decommissioning.
• To approve the procurement of alternative waste disposal and recycling contracts.
• To delegate authority to the Director – Environment and Transport to exercise decision-making powers for the procurement of alternative waste disposal contracts, within an approved revenue budget of £2.0 million.
• To note the Director of Finance and S.151 Officer's requirement to seek exceptional financial support, as outlined in the financial implications, due to the significant accounting consequences of withdrawing from the project.

Councillor Charlotte Hill, Cabinet Member for Highways, and Councillor John Lawson, Cabinet Member for Finance and Efficiency (DOGE), were present at the meeting. Councillor Alan Graves, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Strategic Leadership, chaired the meeting. Councillor Stephen Reed, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Business Services, was also in attendance. Councillor Joss Barnes (Cabinet Member for Adult Care), Councillor Simon Mabbott (Cabinet Member for SEND and Education), Councillor Paul Maginnis (Cabinet Member for Children and Families), Councillor Dan Price (Cabinet Member for Communities and Safety), and Councillor Carol Wood (Cabinet Member for Environment) were also present. Neil Crittenden (Chief Executive), Helen Barrington (Director of Legal and Democratic Services), Claire Brailsford (Executive Director – Place), Chris Henning (Executive Director – Corporate Services and Transformation), Mark Kenyon (Director of Finance), Jenny Lingrell (Executive Director – Childrens Services), and Alec Dubberley (Head of Democratic and Registration Services) were also in attendance. Councillor Paul Parkin (Cabinet Member for LGR and Transformation) sent apologies.