FURIOUS Kinross-shire residents have hit out after a “mysterious structure” appeared on the skyline.

The peculiar object protrudes high above the treeline in a beauty spot close to the picturesque village of Kinnesswood.

The structure is clearly visible from miles around and appears to resemble a huge golf ball.

Speculation regarding the “dominant feature” is rife among bemused locals, and one man who lives nearby contacted The Courier to express his concerns.

“The odd structure simply appeared last week above Scotlandwell and Kinnesswood on Loch Leven,” he said.

“It seems to be of a permanent design and appears to have been constructed without local consultation.

“It is a disgrace that this structure has just been thrown up without consultation,” he said.

“It causes a blot on the idyllic and beautiful landscape—it looks worse than a wind turbine.”

With local communities recently banding together in a bid to combat plans for large-scale wind farms in the area, residents were surprised to see such a dominant feature added to the skyline.

“Structures like this have an effect on the local landscape and wildlife and there has been opposition to wind turbines on those grounds,” the man said.

“However, this seems to have surpassed everyone.

“This towering ugly structure should be removed immediately and an inquiry held as to why it was allowed to be constructed in such a beautiful habitat in the first place.”

The Courier contacted Perth and Kinross Council in a bid to find out more about the structure.

A spokesman explained it is a “rain radar” set up to monitor rainfall—but admitted the normal planning process had, to some extent at least, been bypassed.

“This is a Ministry of Defence building so it was an application by the Crown, which under legislation goes through a slightly different planning process,” he said.

“They do not need planning permission per se. They need to send us notification beforehand of their intention to build.”

The spokesman insisted that consultation was carried out.

“As with all such applications we went through a similar process as we would with a normal application, although it did not go to the development control committee,” he said.

“There was one objection to this so it was advertised locally, but ultimately the planning department had no objection to it on planning grounds.”

The MoD has placed the structure on the hill on behalf of the Met Office.

Its purpose is to collect data which should help to forecast rainfall events and model flood risks in the Perth catchment.

In a report issued when the application was first made last year, a council official said the radar would form “part of a network of Met Office stations.”

He added that the structure would not have a serious effect on “landscape character and visual amenity.”

It would appear some locals do not agree and they will no doubt be glad to know permission was granted only for a temporary period. It will expire in 2011.