Firefighters were called to a fierce blaze on the site of the former piggery that is the site of a controversial plan for 57 holiday lodges.
Witnesses claim a JCB was used to pile rubbish up at Dowrieburn in Luthermuir before it was burnt on Friday evening.
Photographs supplied to The Courier showed the pile of rubbish included mattresses, wood, paint pots, pipes and a sign for the St Cyrus Travellers site North Esk Park
The alarm was raised to Scottish Fire and Rescue after the fire resulted in flames “as high as the JCB”.
The Courier revealed last week SEPA had objected to the application to build 57 holiday lodges on the site on the ground of flood risk.
The application was lodged by Monarch Leisure and Park Homes whose director William McDonald is one of the men behind the North Esk Park.
A neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: “On Friday I came back from work and there was a JCB piling rubbish into this fire pit they had made out of one of these disused buildings.
“There were explosions going off. There were paint pots being attempted to be burn.The flames were the same height as the JCB. Then they left it unattended and we had at least two fire engines attend and it was still smouldering on Monday morning. It was a huge fire.
“My neighbours went out to photograph the waste and there’s actually a sign that says North Esk Park on it.”
A spokesman for Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: “We were alerted at 6.25pm to a fire in Dowrieburn, Laurencekirk on Friday.
“Crews from Laurencekirk and Brechin stations used one high powered water jet to extinguish the flames. Firefighters left the incident at 7.05pm after making the area safe.”
North East MSP Liam Kerr said: “Residents will rightly be worried about this and it seems a remarkable coincidence that we are seeing problems just a week after initial concerns were raised about this site.
“I said before that the authorities should be monitoring events closely. I will be contacting Aberdeenshire Council to ensure that the concerns of residents are being addressed and we get to the bottom of this.”
The site owner did not comment.
