Travellers have defied attempts to keep them off land next to the busy A96 and set up a new camp just yards from the busy road.
They have moved on to the Scottish Government-owned ground over the past few days – despite there being pitches available a short distance away at an official council site.
They managed to access the cycle path and pavement near a roundabout on the Inverness-Nairn road where a padlocked metal gate was erected as a barrier.
There have already been complaints from community leaders, but the travelling families declined to comment yesterday when approached.
Several councillors said they were exasperated they had managed to return to the site after public money was spent on the gate.
The police said the camp at the Smithton roundabout, less than two miles east of the Highland capital, was a matter for the local authority, unless a criminal offence had been committed.
Highland Council said the location – owned by the Scottish Government – is the responsibility of roads maintenance contractor Bear, which installed the gate at a cost of £800.
It is about a mile from the council-operated travellers site at Longman.
Smithton and Culloden community council member David McGrath said: “As part of the Inner Moray Firth local development plan (IMFLDP), Highland Council have set aside short-term-stay sites for gypsy-travellers and I believe one of them is the quarry at Torvean.
“Why have they not instigated these sites so we don’t have this recurring problem each summer?”
A spokeswoman for the council said the final, modified IMFLDP plan was approved at last month’s full council meeting and “is subject to final clearance by Scottish Government ministers”.
Inverness South councillor Jim Crawford said: “It’s time we had permanent sites and we forced travellers on to permanent sites.
“It’s unfair that the ratepayers of Inverness have to pick up the cost of cleaning up after them.
“It’s the mess they leave behind that upsets people. If they cleaned up their mess before moving on people wouldn’t be so antagonistic towards them.”
A council spokeswoman said: “We are aware of the unauthorised encampment and are liaising with the people who are camped there and our partners, in line with our multi-agency policy on managing unauthorised camping.”
She added: “The Inverness Longman site (for travellers) currently has three to four vacant pitches. Newtonmore has three vacant.
“Availability of pitches does not necessarily mean they are used, as decisions to use them can be down to individual choice. Council staff always advise on local pitch availability when they visit an unauthorised camp.”
Four years ago, the conciliation service Acas was brought in to mediate after a row between Highland councillors and their officers over the presence of travellers at the same location.
The move followed bitter argument involving three local councillors and authority officials amid frustration at a perceived lack of response to constituents’ complaints about travellers camped at the spot and other unlawful sites in the city.
It prompted internal and external inquiries and there were accusations from council staff that elected members were “heavy handed” in pressing them to intervene.
Highland Council stayed silent on the issue at the time, saying it was “a private matter that should not become public”.