An appeal has been lodged after councillors rejected a controversial Inverness rubbish sorting site.
Alness based Munro Construction have turned to the Scottish Government for permission to build a waste transfer station at Carsegate Road.
Highland Council’s south planning applications committee voted to reject the proposal after more than 30 local businesses and a nearby primary school objected to the plans.
They were concerns about the potential for bad smells from the centre as well as in increase in traffic.
Committee members went against the recommendation of planning officers, who suggested that the proposal should be approved.
The plans would allow up to 24,999 tonnes of rubbish a year to be transported to the building before it was sorted and moved to landfill and recycling centres.
Applicant Munro said the scheme would not cause problems for the local area. They stressed that all waste would be stored inside a large shed in order to reduce odours.
The company wants to convert an existing large storage shed to handle waste for their skip-hire business and the Highland Council’s collections.
About 15 vehicles a day would bring the waste in, with a further eight bulk carriers taking it away.
Local ward members Donnie Kerr and Richard Laird were among the councillors who spoke out against the plan in August.
Councillor Kerr said: “Highland Council has done a lot to improve the South Kessock area, which I would admit has a bit of a chequered past. This would seriously undermine that hard work.”
Councillor Laird added: “This would change this from a run-of-the-mill storage building to something containing household waste and so on. That could have contamination issues and I’m not comfortable with that.”
Further objectors included Merkinch Community Council, which said that it was looking at ideas to locate museums and other tourist facilities at the nearby Muirtown Basin.