Garff Commissioner who resigned over sewage scheme plans says MUA faces 'major challenges'

Tim Kenyon hits out at authority in resignation statement

A former Garff commissioner says Manx Utilities face 'major challenges' with a sewage scheme in Laxey and Lonan.

Tim Kenyon resigned following the local authority's decision to support Manx Utilities sewage treatment works in Axnfell Plantation.

Mr Kenyon said it would be a ‘major challenge’ for the utility authority to pump sewage up a hill.

He also didn’t believe that the £20 million, which has been allocated to the scheme, would be ‘enough’ because, in his opinion, there would likely be ‘major difficulties’ with the pipe-laying process.

Mr Kenyon also claimed there would be ‘winners and losers’ - with the winners being Manx Utilities and the losers residents in Garff.

Scheme will 'protect precious marine environment'

In a statement, Manx Utilities says it’s sorry to hear of the resignation but appreciates the ‘constructive engagement’ of Garff Commissioners throughout the process.

It adds that the Garff scheme is the last one needed to end the discharge of raw sewage into the sea around the Island – it will ‘benefit’ the whole community and protect the Island’s ‘precious’ marine environment.

The statement also says pumping wastewater uphill is standard engineering practice, and the project is currently progressing through the formal planning process.

Find the statement from Manx Utilities in full below:

“We’re sorry to hear of the resignation and appreciate the constructive engagement of Garff Commissioners throughout this process. The Garff scheme is the Island’s final catchment to end the discharge of raw sewage to sea, protecting Laxey and Baldrine to benefit the whole community and our Island’s precious marine environment. Pumping wastewater uphill is standard engineering practice, and the project is currently progressing through the formal planning process. Should our planning application receive approval contractors will be appointed following a competitive procurement exercise to ensure best value for taxpayers.”

Threats to resign

At the December meeting, Commissioner Stuart Clague also threatened to resign - but the local authority has not confirmed whether or not he has stepped down from the board following these remarks.

In December, Garff Commissioners voted to support the MUA’s sewage treatment proposal for Axnfell Plantation after hosting a public meeting about the plan.

Ahead of a vote taken at the meeting, each commissioner agreed it was one of the hardest decisions they, as individuals, had had to make during their time on the board.

The result was four votes to three with one abstention, with both Mr Kenyon and Mr Clague threatening to resign if the commissioners supported it.

The local authority said, at its meeting, that it didn’t want to keep 'going round in circles' with finding a solution.

In a statement on Mr Kenyon's resignation, Garff Commissioners says Mr Kenyon's contributions to the work of the local authority and his willingness to engage constructively on behalf of the community were ‘highly regarded’.

It adds that he has been an ‘excellent and valued’ member and ‘consistently’ worked to represent the needs and interests of his constituents.

The statement also says that it ‘regrets his departure’ but ‘recognises and respects’ the basis upon which the decision was made.

A by-election will be held in the near future for at least one vacant seat on Garff Commissioners.

The next update from Manx Utilities regarding the sewage treatment works for Garff is expected on 16 January.