HILL of Beath residents have said they will block access to a farmer’s field used for dumping waste if the operator doesn’t clean up his act.
A public meeting at the village’s community centre on Friday attracted around 40 concerned residents and was attended by Fife Council officials as well as representatives from SEPA and Police Scotland.
Also there was West Fife, farmer John Wilson, who was given the chance to address concerns.
Among gripes brought up by residents was the state of the road and concerns over what was actually contained in the field, as well as the hours which lorries were able to enter the site.
Householders complained that lorries were there anytime before 7am every day of the week.
A previous public meeting in August had been attended by John Wilson’s son, however, there was anger that promises made then had not been kept.
Councillor Alex Campbell expressed his disappointment that this had not happened.
“At the last meeting, Mr Wilson’s son agreed to fix the fence and he agreed to wash the road properly and adhere to working times and completion date,” he said. 
“All these conditions your son agreed to have failed. Once again the people of Hill of Beath have been failed which, in my view, is totally out of order.
“How long do people have to put up with this? It is unacceptable how you are handling the situation. 
“What people want is you out of that field. People are now dealing with health problems with dust and I think you have got a lot of questions to answer. We have to look how we are going forward with this. We need to get an action plan in place so issues are resolved.”
Commitments requested included fixing a fence, washing and brushing the road, sticking to specific working times and reducing dust levels.
“You have let the people of Hill of Beath down. We are asking you to adhere to these conditions made at our last meeting going forward. If that is not done, we will be at the gates and blocking any of the lorries from getting in.”
Fellow councillor, Darren Watt, called on Fife Council, SEPA and Police Scotland to start afresh and make efforts to ensure conditions are met.
“Now our job is to hold hold everyone to account and make sure from here until Spring everything we are asking is finished and followed through,” he said, “The biggest thing is we are not getting anywhere. I know resources are limited in all departments but what we are asking for is immediate responses and guarantees that actions are going to be taken.”
Mr Wilson gave his assurances that the conditions, which would include the introduction of a gate aimed at controlling access, will be adhered to.
He said he would introduce signage to encourage lorry drivers to use the wheel wash and said he had a record of what was being deposited in the field for inspection by SEPA. “Every lorry that comes in there we have a line for and every lorry that comes in there we know where the stuff is coming from and what it is,” he said. “We hope to be out by Spring, depending on the weather.”
Once work is complete, Mr Wilson, 72, added he plans to use the land for cattle grazing. A meeting of councillors and community councillors will take place on October 19 to ascertain if conditions have been met.