The owners of a Perthshire hotel have been ordered to tear down an unauthorised chimney stack after complaints from residents.
The chimney was installed at the Tayside Hotel in Stanley four years ago as part of an upgraded heating system.
But a retrospective bid for planning consent was refused by councillors who argued the new biomass boiler would have a detrimental impact on nearby properties.
The decision followed complaints from residents about “intolerable” smoke and acrid smells. One couple said their son was forced out of his bedroom while studying for his school exams.
A second planning application was also turned down for the same reason and an appeal to Scottish ministers was rejected.
Now, hotel owners Joanna Hardy and her father William Twaddle have been served with an enforcement notice by Perth and Kinross Council, ordering them to take down the chimney or face prosecution. The hoteliers are fighting the order and have lodged an appeal with the Scottish Government.
Agents acting on behalf of the hotel business have accused council officers of being “heavy handed”.
In a statement, Cockburn’s Consultants said that the chimney should be allowed after recent changes were made to the hotel’s boiler system, lowering its output by a third.
An odour management plan has been drawn up by the hotel owners and a fan has been installed in the flue, the firm added.
A spokesman said that the boiler had been “unreasonably forced out of operation for more than three years”.
He added: “Perhaps on account of some over-zealous complaints, environmental health could reasonably be accused of being somewhat heavy handed throughout their consideration of this proposal.”
Consultants have highlighted several similar-sized biomass plans at other locations which were approved.
“There is absolutely no reason whatsoever that this application should be treated any differently, although it has been.”
A petition of around 20 names, each confirming they had no problem with the chimney, has also been submitted as part of the appeals paperwork.
The Scottish Government’s directorate for planning and environmental appeals is expected to make its ruling on the application this summer.