PERTH AND Kinross Council could face a bill for £500,000 after it was discovered that Market Park in Crieff is contaminated with five toxic substances.

Owner Crieff Highland Gathering said yesterday it had legal advice that it should close the park after arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead and mercury were found on the site, which hosts the games every year and is a popular spot for the public.

It is thought the chemicals have entered the ground water and CHG claims the £500,000 clean-up costs must be borne by the council because it has appealed against a ruling that a supermarket development can be sited on the park.

The future of the park was the subject of a protracted wrangle, with elements of the community split over whether it should be sold to a developer—the owner’s preferred option—or kept in community use, which is what the council argue.

Despite a lengthy planning inquiry which sided with the owner, the council has refused to give up its 60-year lease, stymying developer Kensington and Edinburgh.

The proposals would have eventually seen a super-market and other shops built on the park and included a provision that the developer would meet the clean-up costs. It would also have built a £1.5 million sports complex with pitches and a 300-person grandstand elsewhere in the town.

Colin Grassick, a director of CHG, said “Had the council accepted the results of the appeal then the costs would have been paid for by the developer and Crieff would have a purpose-built games park and sports stadium all at no cost to the taxpayer.

“Why the council will not accept this win-win for Crieff is anyone’s guess.

“Depending on the results of the survey, and due to tight timescales involved, Crieff Highland Games may have to relocate for the 2007 event.”

He said council officials had consistently failed to meet the company to discuss the contamination, which first emerged during the inquiry.

“Under the terms of the lease they are required to meet with us if requested. Failure to do so within a time period is a breach of that lease.

“Perth and Kinross environmental services stated during the appeal that consideration was being given to putting the Market Park on the national register for contaminated land.”

A council survey is being undertaken and the results will be known in June. No closure decision has yet been made.

A spokesman for Perth and Kinross Council confirmed the presence of the contaminants in the area, but added, “That information is insufficient to form a statutory opinion on whether that land is contaminated according to the legal definition.”

He continued, “The council accepts that, as part of its statutory duties in relation to Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, phase 1 and phase 2 investigations are necessary for the whole area.

“The outcome of these investigations will allow a detailed risk assessment which will permit an informed decision to be made on the fitness of this area for its current uses, and therefore whether it should be declared contaminated land.

“Incomplete information on the actual condition of the ground is such that it is impossible to say whether remediation work is required or not. Therefore it is also impossible to come up with an estimated cost for remediation.”

Alastair McClymont, chairman of the Pro-Market Park group, said the contamination has long been known about in Crieff and affects only a car park area rather then the park itself.

He said of CHG, “They have once again shown disregard for public opinion and the democratic process.

“They are attempting to influence councillors who have reached a decision to retain the park, and these companies are attempting to override that.”