A Travellers’ encampment on the Angus and Mearns border will remain in place into the new year following a court hearing in Stonehaven.
The latest legal action related to the controversial site near the St Cyrus Nature Reserve saw the dispute between Aberdeenshire Council and Traveller James McCallum no closer to resolution.
Mr McCallum failed to appear at Stonehaven Sheriff Court on Thursday where he was summoned to face allegations that he and other occupants of the site breached an interim interdict placed on the land they occupy by the court via Aberdeenshire Council.
The village community fumed after Mr McCallum and several other members of the travelling community moved on to a patch of land next to Eskview Farm on the weekend of September 21.
Within two days, the patch of grass had been transformed into a partially functioning caravan site and a retrospective planning application for permission to build a 10-stance permanent facility was submitted to Aberdeenshire Council on Monday September 23.
The council placed a stop notice on the site to stop work and later obtained an interim interdict from Stonehaven Sheriff Court to prohibit work continuing.
That interdict was extended and subsequent allegations of a breach of the order were made to the council, a claim denied by those involved.
Mr McCallum was represented by solicitor Hayley Mitchell, of James and George Collie, Aberdeen.
The agent made no comment during the hearing, but Aberdeenshire Council solicitor Robin Taylor confirmed that Mr McCallum has denied the breach.
Mr Taylor told Sheriff Chris Shead that the council was seeking a hearing with time for answers set for January 23.
Afterwards he said: “The council are saying that Mr McCallum is denying the breach of interdict. The normal court approach is that he requires to state, in writing, what his defence to the accusation is.
“He has 21 days to do that and answers have to be submitted to the court by January 9. There is then a seven-day period that allows us to examine that. A hearing has been set for January 23 when it may be dealt with.”
Mearns councillor George Carr yesterday suggested the process could go on for a long time, adding: “I have been trying to ensure that people do not get their hopes up that this will be a quick fix.
“As today’s proceedings suggest, this will be a long drawn-out legal process.”
St Cyrus Community Council chairman Eric Herd said: “We were informed that the situation would be processed in accordance with planning laws and the courts and that’s what is happening, so it is out of our hands.”