Council chiefs have slapped a “stop work” notice on the site of next year’s T in the Park following extensive digging being carried out in recent weeks, The Courier can reveal.
Despite some residents claiming the work which has seen large tracks carved out by diggers in the 1,000-acre estate at Strathallan Castle is in preparation of the event, organisers DF Concerts said it is cunconnected.
However, Perth and Kinross Council have confirmed they are to carry out an investigation.
The shock announcement is the latest development in the controversy surrounding the decision to move Scotland’s biggest music festival from Balado, Kinross-shire, to Strathearn.
Last week, the Scottish Government said DF Concerts would require full planning permission for the site and also confirmed an environmental impact assessment would need to be carried out due to nesting ospreys in the grounds of the rural estate.
As a result, a three-month public consultation will now need to take place prior to an application for planning permission being submitted.
A council spokesman confirmed the enforcement notice had been put into effect at Strathallan Castle.
“The council has served a temporary stop notice to the landowners of the Strathallan Estate to stop works pending clarification of the nature and purpose of the works being carried out on site to determine if a planning application is required,” she said.
“Should the works be considered permitted development, the notice could be lifted and the works can proceed without an application for planning permission.”
A Strathallan resident, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed the work was undertaken for the purposes of the music festival.
However, a spokesman for DF Concerts said the work on the estate had “nothing to do” with T in the Park.
The Courier contacted Strathallan Castle but was told no one was available to comment on the matter.