Calls to install a skip in the heart of a picturesque village to tackle fly-tipping have fallen on deaf ears.
A landslip in picturesque village of Gardenstown earlier this year forced the local authority to close a waste collection and recycling point over safety concerns.
When bin bags full of household waste began piling up at the site, local councillors called for a temporary skip to be brought in.
But now Aberdeenshire Council has conceded that – due to Scottish and European regulations – no skip can be installed in the village.
In a fresh report to councillors, Banff and Buchan area manager Margaret-Jane Cardno said a review of the situation has been carried out.
“With EU and Scottish Government targets, as well as the increasing cost of waste disposal, the local authority must find methods of increasing its recycling rate,” Mrs Cardno said. “The former site at Gardenstown does not allow more recycling which is contrary to council policy.”
Restrictions placed on unlicenced sites by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency mean that an open-air skip would be deemed a breach of health and safety regulations.
Instead local residents have been advised to use larger household waste and recycling centres in Banff or Fraserburgh. Council workers will also visit the New Ground site in Gardenstown regularly to crack down on fly tipping.
The issue has been further complicated over a dispute about clearing the nearby slipped land.
The new report to the Banff and Buchan area committee reveals that no council work can be done on the site as all the affected land is in “private ownership”.
Mrs Cardno added: “Although the council has made arrangements to make the site secure, contact will be made with the owners of the slipped land in order that alternative security arrangements can be made.”
The slipped land remains unstable and could be result in further rock fall.
Local councillors will discuss the new report when they meet in Fraserburgh this morning.
