A long-awaited planning application for Garff’s proposed new sewage treatment plant is has now been submitted.

If given the go ahead, the new sewage treatment plant will be built in Axnfell plantation and will mark the end of pumping of raw sewage into Laxey and Garwick bays.

Manx Utilities looked at more than 50 sites for a new treatment works to serve Laxey and Baldrine.

Original plans for the plant to be built at the Cairn near Laxey harbour had little public support and failed to secure planning consent.

While the main plant will be built at Axnfell, the Cairn and Glen Garwick will remain central to the project as the site for pumping stations.

In the planning statement, Manx Utilities says: ‘This proposed first-time wastewater network comprises a sewage treatment works, five associated sewage pumping stations and a system of connecting below ground pipelines, linking the network together.

‘To facilitate the development of one of the pumping stations in Laxey, the demolition of three holiday chalets is also proposed.’

The planning statement says the new scheme is vital to improve bathing quality in the Laxey area.

It explains: ‘The Laxey and Baldrine catchments do not currently have any sewage treatment facilities. As a consequence, untreated sewage flows from these areas are discharged directly into the Irish Sea.

‘The proposed development is a key component in addressing existing sewage treatment challenges in the Laxey Bay area, ultimately seeking to ensure that untreated sewage is no longer discharged into the Irish Sea.

‘Given the importance of achieving these targets for environmental and public health reasons, and complying with national policy, the proposed development is clearly an essential infrastructure development for the island.’

The overall site extends across a large area of Laxey Bay linking Laxey and Baldrine with the proposed Axnfell treatment works at the westernmost point of the proposed development.

At its easternmost, the Cairns pumping station is proposed on the bank off the Laxey River, adjacent to Laxey Harbour while the below ground pipeline forms the northern section of the proposed development.

The Garwick Glen pumping station which will pump sewage from Baldrine, forms the southernmost point of the proposed development.

Manx Utilities says there will be processes to tackle odours with an extraction and neutralisation process.

If the scheme is given the greenlight, the construction phase is scheduled to begin in 2026 and last 18-24 months. The peak period of construction is anticipated to be in the first six months.

In conclusion the planning statement says: ‘The proposed development will provide first-time sewage treatment for the Laxey and Baldrine catchments.

‘This will ensure that untreated sewage is no longer discharged into the Irish Sea in the Laxey Bay, achieving objectives set by Tynwald.

‘The proposed development is considered acceptable in planning terms and should be granted in accordance with the relevant development plan provisions and material considerations.’

The application will be considered by the planning committee in due course.