German Parish Commissioners have asked the Captain of the Parish to call a public meeting in St Johns Methodist Hall on Thursday the 16th April at 7:30pm to discuss the creation of a hazardous waste dump just outside St Johns on the Poortown Road.

While the Commissioners appreciate that sometimes there are breakdowns in communications, and that Minister Gawne met with us at short notice on Monday, and apologised for these, however it is unfortunate that these have continued.

At the meeting with the Minister on Monday 30th March a number of concerns were raised. To give the Commissioners comfort around these, we asked for copies of the risk assessments, environmental impact studies and the schedule of ongoing monitoring to ensure that there was no leaching of contaminated material into the surrounding area. Despite assurances being given that these would be made available prior to the meeting of the board, held last night, copies have yet to be received and the Commissioners are waiting for confirmation of when these will be made available.

It has also been unfortunate that the public notice detailing the proposal, in line with Section 64(3)(b) of the Public Health Act 1990, that the Chief Executive of the Department of Infrastructure, Nick Black, stated was due to be published today, was not included in today’s Manx Independent.

The Commissioners feel that given there are going to be several hundred truck movements through the streets of Peel, carrying this contaminated waste, and the creation of a new hazardous waste dump at St Johns, it is important that there is clear and open dialogue with the public around this.