Laxey sewage treatment delays frustrating, local authority says

Tynwald approved an additional £16.9m to complete the remaining treatment works

Delays to the creation of a regional sewage treatment plant for Laxey and Baldrine have become "frustrating", a member of the local authority has said.

Garff Commissioner Melanie Christian said monthly updates from Manx Utilities (MU) on progress with the works "do not add anything".

But the utilities provider said stopping raw sewage being pumped into the sea remained a priority.

A facility is part of a £40m government scheme to deal with the island's waste.

Ms Christian told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that pumping raw sewage through outfall pipes into the sea at Laxey "isn't acceptable to anyone".

"If you go there on a summer's day, there are lots of families, children, sea swimmers, people enjoying the bay," she added.

The local authority was previously told the plant would be ready for the 2025 bathing season, Ms Christian said.

'Dragging on'

The regional sewage treatment strategy, which was approved by Tynwald in 2019, saw members back plans to build treatment plants to serve Peel, Laxey and Baldrine.

An extra £16.9m was approved for the project last year as additional funding was needed to buy more land to house the facilities.

A spokesman for MU said it was "committed" to the project and the organisation understood the frustration at "what appears to be minimal progress".

Design work was being carried out, alongside negotiations to acquire the land needed, he added.

Ms Christian said while she understood the process of securing land for the works could be "delicate", the process was now "dragging on".

"People are getting tired of the issue, I think people do want a solution," she added.