FAQs - Peel

The Planning Inspector when reviewing the Glenfaba House proposal concluded that there was insufficient evidence to prove that there were not more suitable sites for a treatment works with lesser environmental impact.

The House did not require planning permission for demolition and had been structurally assessed as unsafe, requiring demolition.  We worked closely with Manx National Heritage to document the building and site prior to demolition.  The site will be sold at a future date.

We went back to the beginning and reviewed over 40 potential sites that had been previously identified in feasibility studies or had been proposed during a public call for sites. The pump away to Meary Veg option was also reviewed.

A rigorous ‘coarse screening’ process was completed against criteria such as space, land zoning, proximity to residential areas, ecology and other factors which led to the selection of a small number of options which were looked at in more detail in order to determine the preferred solution. A concept design (comprising site layout and pipeline routes) for each option was created and a desktop environmental review completed (including carbon footprint calculations) to allow a further ‘fine screening’ assessment to be undertaken, resulting in each option receiving a ‘quality’ score. Each was then costed with the ‘whole life costs’ developed over periods of 25 and 50 years. The cost and quality scores were then combined on a 70:30 quality:cost ratio (also undergoing a sensitivity check at 50:50) to ensure the best solution was chosen, not necessarily the cheapest.

This process resulted in the preferred site being the fields adjacent to the Peel Power Station and further information will be provided within the planning application.

The Glenfaba House site will be sold following receipt of planning approval for the preferred site.

IRBC (Integrated Rotating Biological Contactor) equipment will be used at Peel, as it is throughout the Island at 13 other locations. This is a tried and tested process used extensively in the UK and Ireland.

The process used at Meary Veg is slightly different ‐ it is an aerated ‘activated sludge’ process. Some of the IRBC treatment works produce effluent of a significantly higher quality than that of Meary Veg.

Numerous studies have been completed that all conclude that the regional approach is both cheaper and more sustainable than connecting into the IRIS network.

The final construction programme is yet to be finalised. It is currently estimated that the works will take between 18 and 24 months to be constructed.

Processing sewage can lead to the production of odour, and so we are taking steps with the provision of odour control equipment to minimise this risk. The preferred system sucks air from within the covered works, passing it through specifically selected odour control media to absorb the chemicals that smell, releasing it back to the atmosphere via a chimney.

Some earlier sites did not include odour control facilities and these are now being introduced as a retrofit following public feedback. The IRBC system provides a covered plant which lends itself well to the provision of odour control.

There is no plant within the works that produces high levels of noise. Any noise created by plant will be attenuated as required. We have many IRBC sewage treatment works in very close proximity to residential properties and do not receive complaints with regard to noise.

No ‐ The site will operate automatically at night in darkness. Movement activated (PIR Controlled) lighting necessary for out‐of‐hours emergency maintenance activities will be used. PIR movement ‐ activated external security lighting may also be provided to ensure the safety and integrity of the facility.

No, given the nature of the works no pathogen containing aerosols will be produced.

It is envisaged that 2 tankers will visit the site each day, 5 days a week. There will also be daily visits from operational staff in small vans.

It is not envisaged that this will have a detrimental impact on the road network leading to Peel, but this will be considered within the planning application.

Access to the site will be from a new private road running directly down from the A27. This will be one of the first elements of the works to be constructed to ensure large plant will not need to travel through Peel. The site will be accessed via the A27 through Patrick.

Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) are a necessity on the Isle of Man (as they are in the UK, Europe and around the world) due to the combined nature of our sewerage network. This results in large amounts of surface water entering the system which is designed to allow the discharge of dilute ‘storm sewage’ through CSOs when the infrastructure is overwhelmed to prevent the flooding of property during heavy rainfall. Whilst many schemes have been undertaken to remove surface water and infiltration from the sewer network, it is not financially viable to retrofit a fully separate system, and so these discharges are a key part of providing an economical and effective sewerage network.

The infrastructure proposed at Peel will include a combined storm overflow which will be constructed to modern day standards including 6mm screening to remove all solid particles.

The works will provide a minimum of ‘Good’ quality bathing water as required by the Isle of Man’s Water Pollution (Bathing Water Standards and Objectives) Scheme 2021. Modelling predicts that the impact of sewerage discharges will be very close to providing ‘Excellent’ bathing water quality, and it is the frequency of storm discharges which is the potential barrier to that achievement. It should be noted that sewage discharges are not the only discharges that impact on bathing water, with animal faeces, agricultural runoff etc. all potentially having a detrimental impact on bathing waters.

The bathing season is currently defined within legislation. Whilst we acknowledge that the bathing waters are used year round, at present there are no guidelines on bathing water standards outside of the defined season, and no evidence that having the UV switched on during the winter would provide any benefit.

Blue Flag Status requires some 40 factors to be addressed, of which bathing water quality is one. It requires ‘Excellent’ bathing water quality to be achieved. Should Blue Flag Status become a realistic ambition for Peel beaches and future monitoring indicates that storm spills are preventing the ‘Excellent’ standard being achieved then there are surface water separation schemes which could potentially be undertaken to reduce the amount of surface water entering the network.

The DoI are reviewing options for the treatment of the leachate locally. Should these be proven to be unviable then the leachate can be processed within the Peel sewage treatment works. The majority of the PCBs would be removed with the sewage sludge, with the remainder within limits as defined by DEFA.

IRBCs will be part of a routine maintenance programme and major parts may need to be replaced on a 20-year cycle.

Site surface water run-off areas are zoned to ‘clean’ where they will be discharged to the river or as ‘foul’ where they return to the inlet works for treatment. Unfortunately the Underlying ground conditions are unsuitable for ‘soak-away’ methods.

The holding tank at our Peel Promenade pumping station is as large as it could possibly be given the surrounding buildings. It has a volume of over 1,800m3 and in terms of flows into the system it is adequately sized in order to limit the number of discharges to an acceptable level as per the Isle of Man’s Bathing Water Standards.

The sewage system in Peel is predominantly a combined system built by the Victorians, where surface water and foul sewage were conveyed in the same pipelines, and indeed the rain water was used to flush the foul water into the sea. This makes it very tricky to separate out the storm water and as such we have no real choice other than to manage the large quantities received.

Various surface water separation schemes have been undertaken in the past, and there may be more opportunities to do the same in the future, but most of the simpler, more economically viable schemes have been completed. Through our sewer rehabilitation programme we are reducing the amount of infiltration entering the network by maintaining and improving the condition of our sewers.

The initial works provides 7 IRBCs for current population, and space for a further two more to cater for expansion to 2050 and beyond.

We have appointed Manx Wildlife Trust as environmental consultants and we are working with them to assess the project and to implement where practicable environmental measures such as these.

The site is partly shielded by hills so solar input is less than optimum; there is insufficient head to use either flow in the River Neb or treated effluent return flow to generate power as it is only sufficient to return to the outfall.

These fields will become part of the Treasury Land Bank and not within the control of Manx Utilities.

We have worked closely with Manx National Heritage to determine if any form of survey is needed as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment which will be submitted as part of the planning application.

This depends on how quickly planning permission can be obtained. At present our target date of the end of 2025 remains valid.