A Tynwald committee has raised concerns over the government’s continued use of a landfill site without proper permission.

Last month, Council of Ministers approved a planning application which would see Wright’s Pit North in Bride continue to be used as landfill until 2030.

This planning approval was recommended to Council of Ministers by an independent inspector subject to a number of conditions.

But Rob Mercer, chair of the Environment and Infrastructure Policy Review Committee, said that there was ‘great concern’ that the inspector had been ‘misled in some way’.

The site has been used since the late 90s, with planning approval for landfill activities having expired on December 31, 2019.

But the site has continued to be used for landfill of ‘controlled waste’, meaning that the ongoing operations have been unauthorised since this date.

David Ashford, one of the members of the Environment and Infrastructure Policy Review Committee has raised concerns over the ‘illegal’ continued operation of the site for landfill.

The planning application says that at present, there is no alternative on-island provision to the facility at Wright’s Point North.

It adds: ‘In terms of the environmental and amenity impacts of continued operations, there are no significant concerns which would justify insisting on closure of the site.’

An additional landfill waste type was also requested, which was for ‘non-hazardous dredged material’ arising from harbour and flood risk management.

Infrastructure Minister Tim Crookall said that it is a priority to sort out, adding: ‘We absolutely need to and are working to sort this situation out as soon as possible.

‘It is not acceptable, everyone needs to know exactly where we are and be working legally with the right permissions.’

The planning application is set to be laid before Tynwald this week.

In next month’s Tynwald sitting (December), Garff MHk Daphne Caine will move that the Council of Ministers’ decision to approve the planning application for Wright’s Pit North be annulled.

Mrs Caine has raised concerns over the environmental impact that the continued use of the site will have.