Council’s handling of St Cyrus Travellers situation branded ‘a farce’ - Aberdeenshire

From the Courier

Aberdeenshire Council’s handling of the Travellers situation at St Cyrus has been branded “a farce” by residents.

Home owners near the unapproved site, which sits close to St Cyrus Nature Reserve, have repeatedly lambasted the council for its handling of the situation since a number of caravans and building materials appeared on the land last 
September.

Locals were shocked to see the land quickly transformed into a caravan site without council permission, and have hit out at the local authority after the Travellers withdrew their retrospective planning applications at the 11th hour.

The retraction of the planning applications has left residents living near the site in limbo over the future of the area, but the council’s area manager for Kincardine and Mearns, Willie Munro, has denied any council shortcomings and insisted policy was followed.

Homeowners are still too afraid to put their name in the public domain for fear of reprisals, but the recent development has left them calling for action.

One neighbour said: “We can’t quite understand how this has gone on so long. At least another two sheds have been built on the site and it looks like satellite TV dishes are there too.

“The other question is who owns the land?

“The council won’t say and the Travellers won’t say. It’s a farce from beginning to end and should never have happened.”

The two planning applications — one for a permanent caravan park and another for a turning circle and associated temporary holding facilities — were pulled from the grasp of councillors at the last minute by the Travellers.

The plans were recommended for refusal by council planning officers, a proposal backed by three out of four councillors, largely on the basis of flooding concerns.

An independent planning adviser now working with the Travellers has confirmed new applications will be submitted at some point in the future.

Mr Munro said the council had “followed its correct procedures” in dealing with the unapproved development, despite public criticism.

He said: “The planning application had been running through the standard process and was withdrawn by the applicant during the final stages.

“We have been advised that the new planning application will be lodged and will be addressing some of the issues which have been on-going.”

Meanwhile a court case between Aberdeenshire Council and James McCallum, the man named on the first and main application, is set to resume at Stonehaven Sheriff Court.

A sheriff is due to hear evidence in the dispute for the first time, following several false starts at previous hearings.