Bosses at a Perthshire food factory have been ordered to halt emergency measures that were put in place to safeguard the business after a devastating fire.
Hubertus Game in Pitlochry was forced to take action after a massive blaze wiped out its crucial cold store building.
The company has been using refrigerated lorries to keep its stock fresh, while plans are being drawn up for a replacement storage building.
But Perth and Kinross Council has taken enforcement action against the firm, ordering it to stop using the lorries after complaints from neighbours.
The firm, which supplies venison and smaller wild game to restaurants and butchers across Europe and America, argues the trucks are “essential” for the future of the business, its 40 staff – and for the reputation of Scottish food in general.
Hubertus has now appealed to the Scottish Government and called for the enforcement action to be dropped.
Agents for the company said the council had been “pressurised” by a handful of residents who complained about the noise.
In a letter to the director for planning and environmental appeals, a spokesman for the company said: “There was a dramatic development in January 2016 when a large part of the premises were destroyed by fire.
“Fire investigators, police and insurers have taken several months to sift through the debris before concluding that the fire was the result of an electrical fault.
“Part of the premises which was completely destroyed was the cold store where animal and bird carcasses were kept… Our client has sympathy for residents who had to endure the smell of burnt meat which hung over the premises for several days.”
He added: “Until negotiations with insurers have been completed and plans accepted by Perth and Kinross Council for the rebuilding of the cold store, our clients have had to find some way of storing the carcasses which are essential to meeting orders and fulfilling contracts.
“It is simply not feasible for this to be done off-site and for this reason, our clients brought two refrigerated trailers into their yard to store the carcasses.
“This is very much a temporary arrangement until the new store has been built, but the council are being pressurised by one or two residents into declaring that this temporary measure is ‘development’ contrary to the Local Development Plan.”
Agents for the company insist the vehicles are not a “development”, but an “improvised temporary solution”.
They said the enforcement action was “excessive” and insisted the trucks made just as much noise as the original cold store.
“It is essential for our clients’ business and for the reputation of Scottish foods that the condition of meat is properly preserved at all times.”
The council has declined to comment on the case. Its enforcement notice states: “The council considers that the unauthorised development is a breach of planning control, and is unacceptable and of detriment to residential amenity.
“The council considers it would be unlikely to support a planning application for the siting of two lorry trailer units at the site.”