Kincardine and Mearns Area Committee has recommended refusal of a retrospective planning application for an unauthorised Travellers’ site at St Cyrus.
A full meeting of Aberdeenshire Council will now make a final determination of the application, taking into account the comments from yesterday’s meeting in Stonehaven.
The camp, home to more than 50 people, was built from September 2013.
A previous attempt to win permission by Northesk Investment Ltd was turned down with flooding concerns among the main reasons for refusal.
The applicant commissioned a fresh report from a consultant that claimed flooding concerns had been overstated.
However, the analysis was dismissed by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa), which has formed a view that the flooding threat at the site poses a “significant risk to lives and property”.
Stonehaven councillor Peter Bellarby said: “It would be totally irresponsible of us to give permission for this site given the risk of flooding.”
Mearns councillor Bill Howatson said it would be “wholly irresponsible” to give approval given the risks identified.
North Kincardine councillor Carl Nelson said: “The bottom line is there is still a serious risk here.”
Mearns councillor George Carr spoke about the multi-agency rescue effort, which converged on the site on December 30 during Storm Frank.
Mr Carr said: “We had two fire engines, we had the Coastguard there and several police cars now that is a major tying up of resources on a day when the Mearns was at risk in all sorts of different places.”
However, the applicant’s spokesman, Ian Walton, said North Esk Park did not flood on December 30 despite it being the highest recorded rainfall in 30 years.
He said the site was not a flood risk and he said there were a number of inaccuracies in the council’s report to committee.
The council’s head of planning and building standards recommended the application for a 10-stance caravan park and a touring site of 19 pitches be refused.