A controversial traveller camp will be visited by north-east councillors before they make a decision on whether it should be allowed to continue to operate.
Peterhead councillors met yesterday to discuss the camp, which is based at Springhill and situated near three rural cottages, before it goes to Woodhill House later in the year for approval.
The four-pitch encampment was constructed without planning consent and has been in use for about a year.
But local people claim that it is increasing the danger of the narrow roads nearby and impacting on 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.”
Landowner Thomas Collins and his family, frustrated by the lack of stopover sites in Aberdeenshire, set up the camp in the first place.
At yesterday’s meeting, it was announced he was willing to accept a one-year temporary permission for the camp to demonstrate the site can be a success.
But, before the matter could even be discussed, Cllr Jim Ingram convinced colleagues the only way to determine the site’s merit was to see it first-hand.
Alan Davidson, a member of the authority’s infrastructure team, described the application as “unusual”.
Unlike an application to erect a house in an open field, Mr Collins does not need to establish a principle for a travellers encampment if it is a private site for his personal use.
Mr Davidson said: “In this case, it’s a private site for family members.
“There’s already power on the site – it’s retrospective, and there have been a number of caravans coming and going since June last year. It’s an unusual application insofar that it’s for a permanent site.
“He [Mr Collins] is happy to accept a one-year approval, just to see how it goes.”
Councillor Allan Hendry, chairman of Aberdeenshire Council’s traveller sub-committee, previously supported the idea of private camps.