A senior official within Edinburgh City Council's planning department has told an opponent of the site that the issue is being raised "as a matter of urgency" with the operators.

The site at Kaimes Quarry, near Edinburgh, is operated by Hanson Waste Management and accepts domestic, commercial and medical waste.

Villagers in Kirknewton have campaigned against the dump for years. They are opposing an application for it to be extended and want the existing site shut down.

'Operating illegally'

The city council's Acting Principal Planner Enforcement/Licensing, Paul Devaney, has now written to one objector, saying the site appears to have been operating illegally.

"It is my opinion," he wrote, "that the site does not benefit from a live planning permission and I have not received or see evidence to alter this view.

"The unauthorised activities would not in my view be exempted from enforcement action and it is my intention to raise this matter with senior management as a matter of urgency."

Stewart McKenna: Demanding action

Stewart McKenna, who received the letter, said: "We've been dumped on enough already. This village has suffered the consequences of dumping by a multinational company.

"Now we'd like it to go away and we'd like our village back"

He also questioned how the Scottish Environment Protection Agency had regulated the site.

"It is about time the public had an environmental watchdog that they could depend on," Mr McKenna added.

Friends of the Earth Scotland Director Kevin Dunion said he would be writing to First Minister Donald Dewar to demand an inquiry.

He said he would also be asking whether any other landfill sites in Scotland were working without planning permission.

"SEPA should immediately suspend the company's licence and the council should halt all dumping until this whole mess can be sorted out," he stated.

Company defended

But Con Kerwin, of Hanson Waste Management, said the company was acting within the law.

"We have no doubt it will be resolved in our favour because Hanson would not work outside the law.

"We are here to comply with our licence and comply with planning consent that we've been granted."

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency, said it was in discussion with the council and was seeking legal clarification.