Garff Commissioners vote in support of MUA sewage treatment works application

At its public meeting last night, the board discussed the proposal and the toll it had taken on them while forming a decision.

The approval was with a provision that some conditions are suggested to the planning committee.

These were drawn up by Commissioner Richard Henthorn and included monitoring the water quality and publishing results online, request the ultraviolet treatment is used all year round and financial charges should be imposed if raw sewage is let into the bay outside of a storm surge.

Chair Stan Ryzak was in favour and said wherever the site is located it will upset someone and added the board has a ‘massive’ responsibility to do the right thing for the ratepayers.

Vice-Chair Marinda Fargher said she couldn’t support the application because of the destruction it would cause to Axnfell Plantation and felt the MUA and consultancy firm Arcadis hadn’t done enough work on the other sites.

Board members Tim Kenyon and Stuart Clague threatened to resign if the local authority voted to support the MUA’s proposals.

Mr Clague said the utility authority should’ve considered Meary Veg as a more viable option and wouldn’t take his grandchildren to Laxey Beach if the proposals were implemented.

As part of her reasoning, Commissioner Aishlinn Creer said over two drop-in sessions organised only 130 residents attended, 73 completed a survey and of those 73 people, 26 were ‘fully against’ the plans.

The local authority will now lodge a formal response to the planning application.

Also on the agenda was a discussion about setting the rent for the Cooil Roi sheltered housing complex next year.

Julie Mattin, who runs the site, told the board it will either go up by 2.9 percent or 3.9 percent under the new rules announced by the Department of Infrastructure earlier this week.

She added the additional one percent would increase the maintenance budget by roughly £500 and that the residents were expecting it to be increased by five percent.

The board agreed to increase the rent by 3.9 percent for the next financial year.

There was also a discussion about the lack of parking restrictions on Captain’s Hill in Laxey.

Commissioner Aishlinn Creer said she would like to see a maximum introduced of 16 hours within 24, to try and alleviate the amount of campervans on the road.

She added it has become more ‘dangerous’ after parking spaces were moved to the opposite side and pedestrians have to walk down the middle of the road.

It was agreed by the commissioners to speak to the Department of Infrastructure about introducing a restriction.

Garff Commissioners will next meet on 7 January 2026.