Residents of a small south Scotland village say they fear losing their "quiet life" after work started on a £24m meat processing plant nearby.
The Pickstock Telford development at Ecclefechan promises about 90 jobs in a rural area as well as help to reduce food miles.
The company has said that at its factory in England "you wouldn't even know there was a food processing plant on site".
But villagers remain concerned about the potential for traffic, odours, noise and pollution from the plant which should be up and running by 2029.
Dave Cooper, 60, spent the last 10 years in southern California before moving to the cooler climes of Dumfries and Galloway.
"I retired to Ecclefechan looking for a quiet life in an uncomplicated village with good facilities for our boxer that we brought across with us," he said.
"When buying property towards the north-west end of village I knew nothing of the animal processing facility – or the rest of the phases."
He said the village already suffered from "heavy vehicles occasionally speeding down the main road" and he feared that could get worse.
"The meat processing plant, I hope, is far enough on the periphery to not be an issue though light, noise and odour pollution are a concern and the potential for much higher rates of heavy livestock vehicles," he said.
"We have been told that they will advise all such vehicles not to use the village – but advising doesn't always mean much without proper controls."
One local – who asked not to be named – asked why they had picked a site close to the village playing field.
She, too, was worried about traffic, smells and possible contamination of nearby waterways.
"They should stay at their slaughterhouse in Shropshire," she said.
"It's not wanted or needed here, especially located where it's started to be built and the sheer size of it.
"It is going to spoil our little village which is quite a historic village and has two holiday sites nearby, it might impact the tourism in a negative way."
She added: "I for one would not want to come on holiday to a little Scottish village and have to go past the monstrosity that is being built."
Another resident who also preferred to remain anonymous told the BBC he did not object to beef production or having a modern abattoir in the region.
But he had an issue with the location and scale of the factory and how the community had been treated.
"My biggest concern is the continued loss of greenfield land to major developments in Dumfries and Galloway," he said.
"The council's own planning policy promotes the reuse of previously developed and brownfield land, yet we continue to see large developments being placed on greenfield sites because the land is available.
"For me, the fundamental question is simple – was Ecclefechan genuinely the best place for a development of this scale, or was it simply the most convenient place to put it?"
The company has said the venture – backed by nearly £5m from South of Scotland Enterprise – made sense for its business with the quality of Scottish produce "second to none".
It also said the location was in a "very accessible corridor" which could benefit both its operations and local farmers.
It said experience at its other site in Telford had shown that neither smells nor visual impact should be an issue.
"The Ecclefechan facility has secured planning consent, with local concerns considered and addressed through the application process," said a company statement.
"The location supports our ambition to create local jobs, support Scottish farmers and retain more value in Scotland's rural economy."
The development is forecast to create about 250 jobs during the construction phase and a further 90 permanent positions once operational.
About 40 apprenticeship opportunities are also expected, including 25 during construction and 15 after the site opens.
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