Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Traveller camp faces flurry of late objections

The site at Springhill, near Peterhead.
The site at Springhill, near Peterhead.

Plans to build a controversial traveller camp in three rural cottages has received a flurry of late objections last night.

The Collins family are seeking retrospective planning permission for a four-pitch travellers encampment at Springhill, near Peterhead.

A senior councillor has praised the travellers’ efforts to work with the local authority’s planning department, but neighbouring home owners have raised concerns.

Objections lodged with the council include concerns about the danger of increased traffic in the rural area, unsuitable drainage provisions and the impact on nearby house prices.

In a letter, Longhaven couple John and Catherine Smith also objected to “the applicants reputation for untidiness, especially when the site is so close to residential property.”

Thomas Collins and his family, frustrated by the lack of stopover sites in Aberdeenshire, have already bought the site and set up camp. If councillors reject the scheme, Mr Collins has said he is willing to accept a one-year temporary permission so he can demonstrate the site can be a success.

Councillor Allan Hendry, chairman of Aberdeenshire Council’s traveller sub-committee, has previously supported the idea of private camps.

But in another objection architect Phillip Baxter – representing clients in the Springhill area – wrote: “It is our understanding that Aberdeenshire Council is actively developing a gypsy traveller site provision strategy in order to identify appropriate sites throughout Aberdeenshire.

“Therefore, the travelling community should either be directed to existing lawful sites or wait until new approved sites become available.”

Property consultant Alan Seath, speaking on behalf of Mr Collins, said it was right that local people should be able to lodge their support or objection during the consultation period.

“I’ve found it to be a very fair process to date, no more than you’d expect from the public sector and we continue to liaise with the council.

“It’s completely understandable to have these disparate views to these sorts of applications. You’ll have those who have strong feelings about the development, and those who see the benefits.”

Mr Seath added that he expects the planning application will ultimately be decided by a meeting of the full council later this year.