Patrick Commissioners and residents have urged government to consider other land options to build a sewage site for Peel.

The call came at a public meeting held at Glen Maye Chapel, where a number of people expressed their concerns about the planning application (19/00462/B) to develop the Glenfaba site.

Manx Utilities demolished Glenfaba House in April.

It is south of Peel in the parish of Patrick, which is why the issue was raised by the local authority.

The new sewage works should mean that raw effluent would not longer be discharged into Peel bay.

Infrastructure Minister Ray Harmer, Environment Minister Geoffrey Boot and Manx Utilities chairman Alex Allinson answered questions.

Highlighted issues included: the cutting down of more than 110 mature trees on the site, traffic implications, odour concentrations, the Glenfaba House demolition and cost effectiveness.

Commissioners chairman John Anderson said: ’We’re for a treatment plant in the west of the island, but it has to be in the right place.’

Mr Anderson and his wife Fiona, who own Knockaloe Beg Farm, have offered a part of their land on the left of the Glenfaba House site to be used for the sewage plant instead. The offer was made just over two weeks ago free of charge.

’It’s further away from people, 150 metres nearer to Peel and has no trees,’ he said.

’The Glenfaba site is higher so they will be pumping it up over a longer period of time, which will cost more. We feel strongly about there being a solution that is cost effective.’

The site was considered in 2017, but Dr Allinson pointed out that it was too expensive at the time as they would have needed to construct a bridge for transport. This was before the purchase of Glenfaba House.

Patrick Commissioners also claimed they had not received the site plans when they should have at their meeting following the submission.

Mr Harmer, who is also a Peel and Glenfaba MHK, said: ’We absolutely must solve this raw sewage problem.

’My heart sinks a little bit because I feel we’re going back again. We cannot keep stalling.’

To read an update on this story, see today’s Manx Independent.