Angus councillors have criticised their own local authority for “not doing its job” over unauthorised development at a builders yard.
Contractor RS Hill is now the subject of enforcement action over “unauthorised use of land and buildings” in the hamlet of Douglastown, near Forfar.
Councillors said a two-year wait for notices to be served has led to a “sorry state of affairs” that cannot be allowed to continue.
RS Hill was ordered to submit retrospective applications for a canopy on an incomplete building, construction of a scaffolding store, change of use of a building, and for the use of a yard outside agreed borders.
But owner Rod Hill previously protested that the paperwork was filed before notices were served on Friday.
At a meeting of the local authority’s development standards committee, Councillor Jeanette Gaul said council officers “didn’t take the appropriate action” while the firm added to its Scroggerfield yard without planning consent.
She added: “This has caused the residents of Douglastown to take action against this council and the ombudsman has upheld their complaint with an apology being issued by Angus Council.”
The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) ordered the council to apologise to residents for failing in its duty of care to villagers in “distress”.
The SPSO said Angus Council “could have encouraged” the firm to continue its unauthorised business by its lack of action during a 30-month appeal saga.
Mrs Gaul added: “However, we are where we are and this committee provided RS Hill with a six-month time slot to provide the necessary information to be submitted, and planning officers have been working with residents and the firm to assist getting these applications in.
“The bottom line is, RS Hill did not fully take this opportunity on board, and officers have served notices. We now find that RS Hill have at the 11th hour submitted planning applications for various parts of its site.
“I endorse this committee to agree to leave the enforcement notices in place for officers to bring back a full report for this committee.”
Councillor Alex King asked officers whether the decision to issue enforcement notices was caused by “heavy criticism” by the ombudsman.
Planning chief Iain Mitchell said serving notices was “reasonable” to expedite a solution.
He added: “The planning applications will be determined in due course and either come under delegated powers or come to you for determination.”