A SCOTTISH council has had to cough up its biggest ever pay-out after bungling a planning application from one of the UK’s largest coal mining companies.
ATH Resources – who are currently under investigation by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency – were handed more than £175,000 by Fife Council after the Scottish Government overturned the council’s application refusal.
The coal mining firm was also recently fined £10,000 for paving over protected peatland near another of their opencast mines at Grievehill in Ayreshire.
Alistair Black, Chief Executive of ATH Resources, said: “It was something that the company did not relish having to do, but given the decision by the reporter it is quite clear that the councillors based their decision on unreasonable grounds.
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