A Perthshire farmer who has been ordered to tear down an unauthorised cowshed claims his livestock are being put at risk.
Enforcement action is being taken against James Forbes after he built a barn for cattle and sheep on his land near Glenfarg.
The steading was being used in a field at Duncrievie despite two failed attempts to secure planning permission.
Last year councillors threw out a retrospective application, claiming the shed would lead to an “unacceptable level of noise” for neighbours.
Now, Mr Forbes is battling the order with an appeal to Scottish ministers.
In a statement lodged with the Scottish Government’s Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals, an agent for the farm argues that the council’s demand to have the shed removed within 28 days is “not reasonable”.
A spokesman said: “In particular, the appellants seek to challenge the enforcement notice on the basis primarily in relation to the welfare effects on the animals which are housed in the shed.
“There are presently 22 cows and a number of sheep all utilising the shed. Cattle is housed during the wintertime and will be in the shed between mid-November and May.
“There is no other place where the appellants can adequately locate their animals and their health and wealth would be compromised without utilising this shed.”
In a report on last year’s planning bid, council officer Andy Baxter stated: “There is a clear potential for noise nuisance to occur even if the shed was to be used for purely general agricultural purposes (excluding livestock) which the applicant Mr Forbes has suggested will be the case.”
The erection of the shed has angered building firm GS Brown Construction. In his letter to planning appeal officers, chairman Geoff Brown explained that the company won planning permission to build four houses near the site.
“At the time the consent was issued, the site was a highly-marketable location, but its potential has been effectively nullified by the erection within the adjacent land of a cattle shed.”
He added: “If a cattle shed had been erected before we had made our planning application for the four houses we believe that our application would have been refused due to its proximity to a ‘bad neighbour’ use.”
Mr Brown said he is backing the council’s enforcement action to have the shed removed.
No one at Mr Forbes’ farm was available to comment yesterday.
A reporter appointed by Scottish ministers to investigate the case is expected to issue a decision in January.