The Department of Infrastructure has applied for permission to dump contaminated silt from Peel harbour at Poortown.

The planning application, made retrospectively, will be decided by the Council of Ministers.

The department says it wants to keep up to 18,000 tonnes of the silt, which contains heavy metals from mines, at a special site for up to five years.

Work to clear the harbour has already begun, and disposing of the silt has caused a major political row in the West.

In documentation to support the proposals, the department admits its design for the marina was flawed because it doesn’t allow the silt to be washed out into the bay.

And it also acknowledges it should have set up a regular silting programme to remove the 6,000 tonnes a year deposited in the marina.

But it claims dumping the silt in the ponds is the only option because high levels of Lead, Zinc and Cadmium mean it can’t be safely dealt with elsewhere or recycled.

You can find out more about the plans, and have your say on them, on the government’s website gov.im