THE company behind a controversial energy plant on the outskirts of Haddington has been named on a list of deliberate tax defaulters.

Bangley Quarry Biogas Ltd is facing an unpaid tax bill of £324,892 – but the company believes there has been a mistake and is disputing the penalty.

Councillors were split when the proposals for an energy plant at Bangley Quarry, north of the county town, were presented to East Lothian Council’s planning committee in the spring of 2018.

The vote was tied at 6-6 before Councillor Norman Hampshire, now leader of the local authority, broke the tie and backed planning officers’ recommendation to approve the proposals for the anaerobic digestion plant.

Anaerobic digestion is a process in which micro-organisms break down biodegradable material.

Four years later and proposals for the site again came before members of the committee.

On that occasion, a bid to use animal waste to feed the new energy plant was rejected by councillors.

Then Haddington and Lammermuir ward councillor Sue Kempson suggested that the council was being “subjected to a lot of greenwash”.

However, the decision was appealed to Scottish Ministers, who overturned the refusal.

Greenforty Developments, which was behind the plans, claimed that it was approached by local farmers keen to supply “slurry and manure” to the plant in return for the resulting compost in a “fully circular economy”.

A spokesman for HMRC stressed they could not comment on identifiable businesses or individuals.

He said: “We are committed to making sure people pay the tax they owe.

“For the minority who refuse to pay, HMRC has a range of tools available and we are able to publish the names of those penalised under civil procedures for deliberately defaulting on certain tax obligations.

“This is about influencing behaviour by encouraging defaulters to engage with HMRC.”

A spokesman for Bangley Quarry Biogas described the situation as “a misunderstanding”.

He said: “This is a misunderstanding and we are working closely with HMRC to resolve the issue and get the penalty removed as soon as possible.

“The company was dormant (not trading) at the time and therefore no tax is due. Construction continues at the site and we hope to start producing renewable gas in the year 2024.”