Cabinet Office Minister, Kate Lord Brennan MHK has hit out at the Manx Utilities Authority (MUA) for the further delays to sewage treatment for Peel and Laxey.
Minister Lord Brennan’s full statement is below:
The Manx Utilities Authority in the have advised of further delays to sewage treatment for Peel and Laxey. Now looking like completion in 2026, rather than December 2025, subject to support of planning applications. MUA have had to explain themselves to government as an independent statutory board in charge of the operational delivery of this key policy objective for Tynwald and the Council of Ministers, and no doubt will have to explain themselves to the Local Authorities and the public too.
There is an impolite but apt phrase that springs to mind that would describe this situation in terms of handling and simply getting on with things to solve this issue of gross pollution which is appalling for the west, and should not be regarded as normal or acceptable or overlooked. Raw sewage is regularly discharged into Peel Bay.
5 years on since the application in Patrick was understandably opposed, there is no doubt in my mind that this issue of the bay being polluted with untreated sewage remains the shame of the Island, as it has been for decades. MUA indicate they are apparently trying to speed up progress, but by no stretch of the imagination has this been handled well enough, fast enough or with enough impetus from MUA, in my view.
Apparently as a mitigation, MUA say that there will be screens provided to remove solid material from discharge prior to the 2026 “bathing season”. This non fix is not something we should be grateful for.
Since the start of my term as an MHK, I advised MUA that I will not be their spokesperson or be there to put forward their explanations. Instead, as a representative for Peel, I will continue to challenge them, hold them to account and push for progress and remedy of this issue for Peel in the way that local residents want, which I believe does align with Tynwald policy for regional sewage treatment. Government will continue to take an interest at the highest levels in seeing this issue is finally concluded and the work done so that people can enjoy a clean bay and beach.
Furthermore, I have no hesitation in stating my belief that until we have sewage treatment actually in place, there should be no further large scale housing supported for development in Peel (aside from for care purposes) should further Planning Applications come forward in the way we have seen.
Such constraint is something which is already stated in the Draft North West Area Plan as policy – chapter 10 published in June 2022.
The lack of provision for sewage treatment and infrastructure in any case is something that officials in Development and Building Control and / or at the Planning Committee must keep in mind when evaluating Planning Applications for large scale housing developments in Peel.
We must have capacity and infrastructure for sewage treatment before further significant development in Peel.
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