Scotgold hedging its bets on fresh mine planning campaign

Gold mining firm Scotgold Resources is to urge ministers to overturn a decision to refuse planning for its flagship project in the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs national park.

The firm said yesterday that it intends to lodge an appeal with the Scottish Government before a deadline on 18 November despite hopes that talks with members of the Park Authority board would pave the way for a second, successful application. The board narrowly voted against granting approval for the mine at Cononish, near Tyndrum in August.

AIM-listed Scotgold said yesterday that it had decided to hedge its bets by both lodging an appeal and continuing discussions. While talks with board members had proved "encouraging", the firm said not enough progress had been made to give it confidence to solely pursue the second planning application route.

Under Scots law, firms have only three months to appeal an unsuccessful planning decision.

However, John Bentley, chairman of Scotgold, said a second planning application remained the preferred option if agreement can be reached with the board over some of the more controversial elements of the project - in particular the "tailings management facility" created by the waste dug out of the mine.

"We want to work with the park on getting the right development plan that everyone is happy with," Bentley said. "What we are desperate to avoid next time is a last-minute surprise."

The firm discovered that the director of planning at the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs national park intended to recommend a refusal only seven days before the board took the final decision at a stormy meeting in Tyndrum on 18 August.

Although the earliest Scotgold would be able to submit a second planning application would be mid-December, it is believed that this option would be faster than an appeal which could take up to a year to be heard.