The island’s planning committee has been advised to approve plans for a regional sewage plane in Peel.
Manx Utilities’ plans would see it build a treatment works on land just off Glenfaba Road in Sunset City.
If approved, the plans will bring a much longed for end to the dumping of raw sewage into the sea off the island’s west coast.
Planning officer Russel Williams’s report, which can be found here, says that the “benefits associated with the proposed development significantly and demonstrably outweigh the identified policy conflict and the low level of material harm that would arise”.
Currently, untreated and unscreened sewage is pumped to an outfall and discharge point in Peel Bay, east of the breakwater, which will still be used to deposit the treated waste if the site is built.
Objections
There has been several objections to the plans from residents of Peel and nearby land owners who do not believe the full impact of the site has been considered.
Their objections include the potential impact on an adjacent land owner’s ability to build homes on their land, the potential for an odour cloud, concerns that the site will not fully treat the sewage and whether Manx Utilities would provide “technical information on the quality of treated effluent to be discharged and how it complies with standards”.
Others who approved it said the current situation is “unacceptable”, one person who was neither for nor against the proposal said a geophysical survey should be submitted as locals believe this to be a possible site of a Viking fleet.
If approved, it is expected the construction phase of the development would take two years.
The recommendation comes with several caveats, including Manx Utilities being required to protect several trees during the construction of the site and for it to outline what measures will be taken to reduce odour emissions.
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