Sewage problems at a controversial housing development in Kinross have prompted an official complaint to the Scottish Government Reporter.
Kinross-shire Civic Trust has intervened after the Reporter announced it was minded to allow 169 more houses to be built at the troubled Lathro Farm site, despite the plans being rejected by Perth and Kinross Council.
In recent weeks, residents have complained of tankers being forced to drain sewage from the Persimmon Homes site because the drainage systems are unable to cope.
Witnesses also described raw waste seeping onto the street at the Phase 1 part of the development.
Raw sewage seeps on to Kinross-shire estate as tankers called in over drainage problems
Kinross-shire Civic Trust has now demanded that the Reporter refuse the appeal for more houses to be built on the site.
The group says the deployment of tankers is evidence that the existing drainage systems cannot handle more development.
And it raises wider concerns about the potential impact on nearby Loch Leven.
In its letter, a Trust spokesperson says: “Lathro Meadows residents are in a state of anger and disbelief that you are minded to grant planning consent for Phase 2 given the conditions they are living in.
“The drainage problems are clearly not easy to resolve; they have been ongoing for at least 18 months.
“If the system requires frequent intervention – i.e the removal of waste by trucks- this must raise questions over the condition of the pipes that have been laid.”
The letter goes on: “If they are leaking and overflowing then there may be pollution of the groundwater – which is naturally high in this area – which ultimately means that there is a risk of pollution to Loch Leven, which is of international importance and has many designations, including Special Protection Area.”
Persimmon and Perth and Kinross Council have now been given two weeks to respond to the allegations made by the Trust.
Developers of controversial Lathro Farm site launch appeal to overturn rejected 169-home plan
Persimmon has also rejected claims that tankers removing waste from their site used the sewer systems of neighbouring estates to dump sewage.
A spokesperson for Persimmon Homes North Scotland said: “We would like reassure local residents and the wider Kinross community that works to facilitate the adoption of the sewer network are our priority and we apologise for any continued inconvenience.
“We can also confirm that no illegal discharge of sewage has taken place, the contractor was extracting sewage from the manhole on Lathro Lane.”
The site has been the source of a string of complaints from residents and neighbours, over issues concerning the new houses, roads and disturbance from work crews.