Beginning of end to St Cyrus Travellers row could be in sight - Aberdeenshire

From the Courier

Today could herald the beginning of the end of a three-month dispute between a group of Travellers and Aberdeenshire Council.

James McCallum and a number of fellow Travellers are due to appear at Stonehaven Sheriff Court to face a hearing related to an alleged breach of an interim interdict placed on the land they occupy.

The court date comes just days after a new application — seeking permission to build toilets and wash stations at the controversial site near the St Cyrus Nature Reserve — was validated by the local authority.

Today’s proceedings will stand as one of the key stages in the overall process, which may go all the way to Europe according to the defiant Travellers, who have vowed to fight to the end in their bid to establish a permanent home.

Community anger erupted after Mr McCallum and the other members of the Travelling community moved on to a patch of land next to Eskview Farm on the weekend of September 21.

Within two days the foundations of a new caravan park were laid. A retrospcetive planning application for permission to build a 10- stance permanent park was submitted to Aberdeenshire Council on Monday September 23.

The local authority placed a stop notice on the site and obtained an interim interdict from Stonehaven Sheriff Court to prohibit work continuing.

Allegations of a breach were made to the council that work had carried on — a claim denied by those involved.

Mearns councillor George Carr has been part of the community discussion about the situation from the outset and said that, whatever the outcome of today’s scheduled court hearing, there may still be a long way to go before the issue is finally resolved.

“This is one step on the road to see if this can be resolved, but no doubt it will be a lengthy process,” Mr Carr said.

“There are still comments coming from residents and a few statutory consultees have still to reply. I think all councillors are looking into this and are up to speed with the issues.”

Over the three months the application has attracted the ire of the nearby St Cyrus community, with villagers raising their concerns at two community council meetings.

However, an organisation based in a Montrose which fights for the rights of the Traveller community in Scotland has registered its support for the site, which borders on a site of special scientific interest and an area prone to severe 
flooding.

Roads, paths, walls, sheds, a perimeter fence and other associated infrastructure have all been installed over the past three months.

Local schools have been asked to take on children from the site and the authority has organised council tax and waste collections for five of the caravans, in accordance with statutory obligations.

It is expected that the applications will be discussed by the council’s Kincardine and Mearns area committee next year.