Manx Utilities will seek a holistic approach to Garff’s sewage after its plans for Laxey were kicked back.

The authority had applied to build a treatment works on the site of the chalets at the bottom of Breeze Hill, but this was rejected by planners.

Its application was met with widespread hostility from residents of the village and Garff Commissioners. Aside from Nigel Dobson, who abstained, all members of the local authority voted to recommend rejection.

The planning committee unanimously rejected the application on July 27. The reasons for the decision were considered by Manx Utilities’ board on July 31.

Following that board meeting, the authority agreed that no appeal will be submitted and it must now look again at a holistic solution which is the ’best for Garff’.

The chairman of Manx Utilities, Tim Baker MHK, said: ’We respect and accept the planning committee’s decision although we were of course disappointed as we were confident the detailed proposal would have provided a suitable treatment solution for Laxey.

’We will again work with local MHKs, commissioners and of course the community and residents to identify a solution which is acceptable for Garff, exploring all potential options for this challenging physical environment.

’We want to bring forward our thinking in the manner outlined, to enable the Garff community to have an informed discussion and Manx Utilities to deliver the required sewage treatment solution. Doing nothing is not an option as we must stop the release of raw sewage into the sea to protect our precious island environment.’

The Laxey scheme would have resolved issues only for the village. It was not designed to prevent the continued depositing of sewage from Baldrine and the surrounding area. The new focus on the whole of Garff shows a change in emphasis from the authority after it focused on Laxey in its plans so far.

Many opponents of thescheme said this was one of its biggest failings. They also criticised the potential impact on the Laxey conservation area and the village’s infrastructure as well as the smell and the need to have tankers remove waste every day.

The most publicly supported alternative was ’Pump not Dump’, a method which would have seen the area’s waste pumped underneath the MER tracks to line up with a central system as happens in the south of the island with the steam railway and the IRIS system.

However, this proposal has been criticised by MU for being too expensive.

Mr Baker added: ’There has already been a huge amount of work undertaken to get to this stage with a great number of options evaluated. There are no easy solutions and every potential option will have its strengths and weaknesses, so we need to recognise that it will be impossible to please everyone.’

Garff MHK Daphne Caine tweeted that the announcement was ’excellent news’.