Mark has written to John Swinney, the Scottish Government's Cabinet Secretary for Sustainable Growth to demand urgent action to resolve the problems at Seafield Sewage Works which have stopped local people sitting outside in the hot weather because of the smell.

The problem has dragged on for a number of years now. The SNP made a commitment in the 2007 election campaign to resolve the problem. However, although work is scheduled to begin on upgrades to Seafield later this summer, including an 'odour abatement plant', these stop short of covering the tanks as local residents have demanded.

Mark has been flooded with complaints from constituents who are affected and in his strongly-worded letter to John Swinney he said that the problem appeared to be worse than ever.

He set out local residents' concerns that staffing levels, at the weekend in particular, do not allow action to be taken quickly enough when the smell is at its worst. 

Mark called for John Swinney to require Scottish Water to cover the tanks as advised by an independent expert and requested by the Leith Links Residents Association.

He concluded: "Residents of Leith have suffered the ‘Seafield Stench’ for too long."