Emotional members of the travelling community shed tears of joy and erupted in applause in the Aberdeenshire council chamber yesterday after plans to legitimise a controversial caravan site in St Cyrus received overwhelming approval following a six-year battle.
Families from the travelling community at St Cyrus packed-out the public gallery at Woodhill House.
They held their collective breath as councillors debated the fate of their home by Eskview Farm, close to the St Cyrus nature reserve.
The key opponent of the pair of retrospective planning applications was the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), which argued the land the caravans have been situated on since 2013 is unsuitable due to the risk of flooding.
But after more than two hours of intense discussion, members eventually voted in favour of the retrospective plans by 46 to 17 – prompting an outpouring of emotion and celebration from the gathered families.
One member of the community, who did not wish to be named, said: “Justice and common sense has prevailed.
“The need for travellers’ sites is obviously apparent within Aberdeenshire and the outcome is obviously good, not just for us, but for generations of us.
“I have four kids and we now have a home.
“I’ve invested everything I have into this and to have it finally confirmed that our home will no longer be demolished is fantastic.
“I understand this has upset a lot of people but we are part of the community. We always have been and always will be.”
He added: “When people go to the site, all they see are the caravans and the static homes. They don’t see the people inside them.”
It is the second time members of the local authority have voted to officially formalise the site, which first appeared by the River North Esk six years ago.
Councillors gave the green light to a previous retroactive application in 2016 – before it was overturned by Scottish Government in the wake of SEPA’s concerns.
Because SEPA has also objected to the new plans, the applications must now be referred to Scottish Government ministers once more, who will decide whether or not to call it in.
SEPA still concerned by St Cyrus site’s flood risk
Yesterday’s full Aberdeenshire Council meeting heard from Jim Mackay, a planning unit manager with SEPA, who argued the plans should be thrown out due to the “risk to human life” posed by the potential for flooding at the site.
Mr Mackay stressed the environmental body could not support an application to develop in a location that has historically been impacted by flooding.
He said: “SEPA does not lodge objections in principle lightly.
“Our mantra has always been avoid, avoid, avoid.
“There is no need for mitigation measures or evacuation procedures if flooding can be completely avoided in the first instance instead.”
Ian Walton, from SLR Consulting, represented the travelling community at the meeting and argued councillors needed to balance the needs of the community to have a home against the risks posed by floodwaters.
He said a recent evacuation exercise undertaken by the community showed they could get to safety within 18 minutes and highlighted that at-risk areas can typically receive flood warnings three hours in advance.
Mr Walton also noted many of the caravans would be too high off the ground to be severely impacted by flood water.
He did acknowledge the site was “not ideal” but highlighted that, since 2013, no alternative sites have been put forward by Aberdeenshire Council and there was “nothing on the horizon”.