The North Yorkshire County Council (UK) has approved plans for the Allerton Park incinerator private finance initiative (PFI) project.

The new facility will have a total capacity to process 320,000 tonnes of waste a year from households in North Yorkshire and York. It will also provide heat to heat up to 40,000 homes. The Allerton Waste Recovery Park will be located near Knaresborough.

The project was agreed in principle in December 2010 by North Yorkshire County Council and the City of York Council. At that time the Government was offering funding support under a PFI equivalent to £65 million, but this was withdrawn unexpectedly in February last year.

The project was granted planning permission in 2012. AmeyCespa was selected as the preferred bidder on 30 January 2013.After the approval, AmeyCespa is responsible for the development and management of the project. The contract period is 25 years.

The total project investment is estimated at £1.4 billion (US$2.274 billion).

Councillor Chris Metcalfe, executive member for waste disposal, stated:

I do appreciate some of the concerns that have been raised by members of the public and, yes, they're right, 25 years is a long time and, yes, there is an element of risk, but we've assessed those risks and we believe this is in the best interests of the residents of North Yorkshire.

InfraPPP is currently following another PFI project in Yorkshire, the fourth batch of privately financed schools. In late August the UK Department for Education received three final bids for the porject. The contract winner will design, build, finance and maintain the schools during 25 years. The project cost is estimated at £97 million (US$162 million).