Decision details

To allocate £15,000 of capital funding as an urgent measure to comply with Environment Agency requirements to commence introduction of fire prevention measures at the MRF. There initial measures are CCTV cameras and an intruder alarm to reduce the risk of arson.

To allocate £15,000 of capital funding as an urgent measure to comply with Environment Agency requirements to commence introduction of fire prevention measures at the MRF. There initial measures are CCTV cameras and an intruder alarm to reduce the risk of arson.

This is an initial measure necessary to comply with the Environment Agency’s requirements under the Environment Permitting Regulations (England and Wales) 2010. Following a series of high-profile serious fires at waste management sites there is increased EA security of facilities such as Exeter’s MRF. In response, the MRF Manager commissioned a Fire Prevention Plan comprising a range of prevention and control measures some of which will require substantial investment. Tackling the risk of arson is a practicable first measure on which the EA is expecting us to make early progress.

The alternative option is to defer this investment until a full business case for capital investment in the MRF is considered. However, a delay in starting improvement measures increases the risk of the EA issuing a variation to our Environmental Permit, which could require us to implement the full range of improvements without us having control over the timetable.