Residents dramatically halted a coach full of councillors yesterday in a failed bid to convince them to reject plans for expanding their local sewage works.
About 30 angry Ardersier villagers surrounded the vehicle on foot, forcing the driver to stop. The councillors, their officials and Scottish Water representatives then stepped from the chartered vehicle for a 30-minute verbal blasting from objectors.
The council delegation was a short distance from the water treatment plant it went on to visit before considering the planning application.
A concerned council official had phoned the police. Several officers turned up. A force spokesman later said that no offence had been caused.
A few hours later, the south planning committee approved Scottish Water’s proposal for upgrading its Ardersier facility with high tech equipment to accommodate a projected huge increase in the local population, largely spawned by the creation of the entire new town at Torngrain over the next few decades.
Objectors want Scottish Water to build a new plant elsewhere to service the new homes. Ardersier residents claim they were not fully consulted about the utility’s ambitions despite its claim to the contrary.
Organic farmer Morven Macleod, who was among the demonstrators, said: “It’s going to affect the quality of our life because every time we step outside our house we’re going to smell it. I spend a lot of time outside and I don’t want to smell human excrement.”
Widely held concerns about potential odours and heavy construction vehicles using fragile roads in Ardersier were addressed by the planning committee – which approved the upgrade but promised to establish a local liaison group to oversee the process.
Speaking last night, campaign spokeswoman Jenny Maylin said: “It’s clear the planning committee have no knowledge of Ardersier or done any research and that’s worrying. We expected this result.
“We continue to fight to have the water treatment works moved. We’re in contact with communities around the Moray Firth and we’re all going to be pushing for an alternative site.”
Scottish Water had previously received permission to upgrade the facility. The latest consent was to install specialist UV treatment technology which claims to improve the quality of treated water before it is discharged into the Moray Firth.
A spokesman for Scottish Water said: “We welcome the decision to approve this planning application which is part of a package of essential improvements required to waste water infrastructure.
“We recognise the importance of working closely with the community and the feedback will help ensure these improvements are carried out while minimising impact on the community.”
