AN APPEAL court has condemned Scottish Ministers for failing to give "proper, adequate and intelligible reasons" for granting planning permission to a controversial railfreight super-hub on greenbelt land in Lanarkshire.

The Court of Session said Ministers' had "largely ignored" a number of serious concerns raised by their own independent reporter in relation to the proposed Mossend International Railfreight Park (MIRP) in Bellshill.

In a written judgement, Lord Drummond Young, Lady Smith and Lady Paton said the Ministers' decision letter overturning the reporter's recommendations and giving the scheme the go-ahead in August 2015 "does not meet the standard of intelligibility required".

The judges said that "the rather cursory statement that loss of green belt would be offset to some extent by the proposed community green network and woodland...[was nowhere] near an adequate response".

Ministers also failed to address the "real prospect of closure of the Freightliner terminal and potentially a risk to other facilities in central Scotland" as a consequence of competition from MIRP.

The ruling follows an appeal by North Lanarkshire Council, which had knocked back the plans before being overruled by Ministers.

Councillor James Coyle, the council's convener of planning and transportation, said their decision to appeal had been "wholly vindicated" by the court.

He added: “The Scottish Government has the right to appeal. I certainly hope they do not waste any further public money in doing so."

Frank McNally, Labour councillor for the Mossend, said: “This is a damning indictment of the Scottish Government’s actions in overturning the decision of the council and vindicates those who fought to take it to court.

“I urge Ministers to listen to the views of local people, North Lanarkshire Council, their own Reporter and the Courts and end this debacle once and for all."

It is the latest twist in a long-running and bitter planning dispute which has pitted North Lanarkshire's Labour-run council against the SNP-dominated Scottish Government.

The saga began when family-run logistics business, PD Stirling, applied for planning permission to create the new £260 million super-sized freight hub on greenbelt land next to Carnbroe Road in Bellshill, saying it would generate 2,700 jobs plus another 2,200 during construction.

Critics urged them to expand on vacant land next to their existing depot, Mossend Railhead, adjacent to the Eurocentral industrial estate but bosses said it was not big enough.

The project was originally backed by officials at North Lanarkshire Council who argued the potential economic benefits for the area outweighed the loss of the greenbelt land, but planning permission was unanimously rejected by councillors in September 2014 after they were inundated by complaints from local residents.

Some 1,200 lodged objections claiming the noise, pollution and disturbance from the site would have an unacceptably detrimental effect on their quality of life and erase Bellshill's last significant area of open space.

PD Stirling appealed and the decision was called in by the Scottish Government, whose own independent reporter sided with the council.

However, in a shock move then-Communities Secretary Alex Neil - whose own Airdrie and Shotts constituency would neighbour the development - overruled the reporter and granted permission, arguing that the hub was of “national significance”.

David Stirling, director of PD Stirling, acknowledged the Court of Session ruling, adding: "We now await the outcome of Scottish Ministers’ further determination in relation to the planning appeal.”

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: "Scottish Ministers note the Court’s Opinion and will now carefully consider it and its implications."