A controversial £50m waste incinerator will be built near a South Lanarkshire village despite more than 20,000 letters of objections.
South Lanarkshire Council gave planning consent to waste management firm Scotgen to build at Dovesdale Farm, near Stonehouse.
Campaigners have been left devastated by the decision and are now worried about pollution in the area.
Protesters, including the Dovesdale Action Group, are also concerned about the effects that emissions from the incinerator will have on residents, farm animals and produce.
The decision was made by councillors at a planning committee meeting on Tuesday morning.
Protesters had gathered outside South Lanarkshire Council’s headquarters in Hamilton before the decision to highlight their anger.
On hearing the news to give the plant the go ahead, one demonstrator told STV News: "My reaction is disgust. Absolute disgust. We have a beautiful, beautiful valley and they are absolutely going to destroy it."
Councillors were told by Michael McGlynn, head of planning for the council, to pass the plans due to the potential creation of 50 jobs, the lack of current recycling facilities in South Lanarkshire, and the lack of objection from bodies such as the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.
Fourteen councillors voted for the proposal, while nine voted against the plans.
Commenting on the decision by South Lanarkshire Council to award the planning permission, Aileen Campbell - SNP MSP for South of Scotland - said: "I share the massive disappointment and concern about this decision which will be felt by thousands of people in the Clydesdale area and beyond.
"Hundreds of people from across the South of Scotland have told me they don’t want this facility to be built, and I reflected that in my own objection to the Council."
Additional reporting by Sharon Frew and Gillian Provan
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