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Broughty Esplanade works blamed for ‘industrial scale’ quantities of historic landfill washing up on Angus beaches

4,000 old bottles were collected from a Site of Special Scientific Interest at Barry Buddon in one clean-up earlier this year.

Seonaid McGurk of Monifieth Eco Force with some of the bottles she has picked up. Image: Mhairi Edwards/DC Thomson
Seonaid McGurk of Monifieth Eco Force with some of the bottles she has picked up. Image: Mhairi Edwards/DC Thomson

Angus environmental campaigners claim “industrial quantities” of historic landfill is being washed onto local beaches from the £18 million pound Broughty Ferry esplanade improvement project.

They believe bottles, bones and other items dating back around a century have been disturbed in the project to transform the esplanade and deliver an active travel route to Monifieth.

It’s included a massive haul of 4,000 old bottles found in one beach clean at the Barry Buddon Site of Special Scientific Interest.

A dossier of evidence has been presented to Dundee City Council and environmental agency Sepa demanding an urgent investigation.

And the campaigners say there is a strong case for halting work to stop further contamination of the local coastline.

Bottles found at Buddon in Angus.
Dozens of intact old bottles have been found on Angus beaches. Image: Mhairi Edwards/DC Thomson

Wendy Murray of Angus Clean Environments said: “The scale of what we have found is unbelievable and yet no-one seems to be interested in taking it seriously.”

Last year, Wendy took on the might of the US Navy after “rancid” food waste washed up on the beach near her East Haven home.

Her detective work led her to suspect the tins were thrown overboard from American warships involved in a NATO exercise in the North Sea.

Buddon finds

Wendy said alarm bells began to ring in April when volunteers removed almost 4,000 bottles during a beach clean at Barry Buddon/Monifieth.

Seonaid McGurk from Monifieth then came forward to say she had picked up dozens of antique bottles – the earliest from the 1700s – from the beach at Broughty Esplanade.

“We tried to find information on likely historic coastal landfill sites which could have been breached,” said Wendy.

“But there is nothing other than Invergowrie on the Sepa maps.

“However, it has been suggested that the source is likely to be very close to Monifieth/Buddon due to the fact so many glass bottles have been recovered completely intact.

Wendy Murray
Wendy Murray is shocked at the scale of the finds. Image: Mhairi Edwards/DC Thomson

“We’ve scoured the coastal dunes between Arbroath and Dundee to try and identify any eroded dune areas from which these items might have escaped.

“And having excluded several stretches of coastline, volunteers started to look more closely at Broughty Ferry where very old items have also been found in recent times.

“It’s well known Victorian waste dumps were often located on coastal sites on the outskirts of towns and villages.”

Courier report clue

Wendy added: “We found a report from The Courier in 1940 saying the military wanted Barnhill golf course for training.

“Dundee Parks Committee agreed to ask if the ground at the dump nearby would be suitable, otherwise the use of the course would be granted.”

She added: “We’ve since spent a lot of time near the works site and there’s evidence old bottles uncovered there are being crushed by the workmen on the site.

“We are very concerned the broken glass will find its way into the marine system.”

Old bottle washed up on Monifieth beach.
One of the many old bottles picked up by Seonaid McGurk. Image: Mhairi Edwards/DC Thomson

A 1960s Palmolive squeezy bottle and 4d Golden Wonder crisp packets have also been found in the huge haul of detritus.

“Most of the MOD training area at Barry Buddon is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and an EU Special Area of Conservation (SAC), as well as a Special Protection Area (SPA) for its bird populations,” Wendy added.

“We just can’t believe any action hasn’t been taken, or at the very least a full risk assessment and investigation.

“Investigation and remediation may be expensive but we cannot continue to knowingly allow waste to enter the marine environment and contaminate the coastline.”

‘Wishy washy response’

Seonaid has even written a book on the finds she has made along the Esplanade and beyond.

“That’s kind of where is all stemmed from, I’ve about 200 bottles in my collection.

“They are all local names – we didn’t have food miles back when these were being dumped.

Seonaid McGurk of Monifieth Eco Force.
Seonaid McGurk says the problem is “industrial scale”. Image: Mhairi Edwards/DC Thomson

“I got in touch about what was happening but just got such a wishy-washy response.

“We are lifting industrial quantities of rubbish off this beach and it’s beyond frustrating that it is not being seriously investigated.”

A spokesperson for Dundee City Council said: “We appreciate the work that has gone into the compilation of this report by Angus Clean Environments and will consider its contents carefully.”

Sepa has also been asked for comment.

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