Residents near a vast Travellers site in St Cyrus have expressed their anger at Aberdeenshire Council after its surprise decision to grant retrospective planning permission.
North Esk Park was approved by 41 votes to 24 in the latest twist in a saga that stretches back to September 2013 when Travellers suddenly arrived and started building fences and walls on the greenfield site.
Despite a recommendation from SEPA that the site posed a flood risk and a warning by Aberdeenshire Council’s own flooding and coast protection team that the plans “will result in significant risk to lives and property”, councillors approved the application.
The main reason for it being approved was the lack of other halting sites for Travellers in Kincardine and Mearns.
However, because the council has gone against a SEPA recommendation, the application will now be referred to Scottish Ministers.
Kath Smith, who runs Eskview Farm B&B which neighbours the site said she felt “let down” by the system.
She added: “I can’t understand how they’ve come to that decision. Basically the council has chosen to ignore the whole infrastructure of the planning system.
“Nothing has changed since it was last refused a year ago.
“They are going against more than 40 objections, SEPA, environmental health, the flooding and coast protection team just to fulfil their own failure to provide Travellers sites.”
The councillors also consider the applicant’s own flood risk analysis, which claimed the SEPA flood risk analysis had been over stated.
The planning permission was subject to a variety of conditions, including the site having compensatory water storage, the provision of a flood emergency plan and the removal of a bund.
It also asked for landscaping to improve amenity of neighbours and that there be no development within the Sites of Special Scientific Interest boundary.
Another neighbour said: “Aberdeenshire Council have ripped up their entire rule book.
“The message seems to be that if you don’t have planning permission for your building, extension or a conservatory, just go ahead with the project, you don’t need it.
“It’s a greenfield site that sits on a flood plain. If you can get away with building a huge development there, you can do it anywhere.
“It sets a horrendous precedent. We are extremely disappointed in the council.
“I just hope that the Scottish Ministers sort out this mess.”
Mearns councillor Bill Howatson moved that the application be refused on the basis that the applicant had breached policy and due to the flood risks.
He said: “There was a particularly bad flood on December 30 last year and at that point the residents had to be evacuated.
“Given the weather patterns that we could have it wouldn’t be surprising if there would be further flooding.
“My concern has always been about encouraging people to stay there when there is a risk of flooding and SEPA made that very clear in their analysis.
“However, there are no Travellers sites in Kincardine and Mearns and that has been a genuine concern to all of us in the council so I wasn’t surprised at the position taken by some of my fellow councillors.”
A spokesman for SEPA said it was aware of Aberdeenshire Council’s decision.
The spokesman added: “We will now await the decision from Scottish Ministers on whether the planning application is to be called in or not.”
