THE British government last week blocked plans to extend skiing to Lurcher鈥檚
Gully in the Cairngorms, one of the country鈥檚 last remaining mountain wildernesses.
The issue came to a head earlier this year when the Highland Regional Council,
the planning authority for most of the area, identified Lurcher鈥檚 Gully,
in the northern corries part of the massif, as suitable for ski lifts.
Environmental groups bitterly opposed the council鈥檚 stance, as did the
government鈥檚 own wildlife and countryside protection advisers, the Nature
Conservancy Council and the Countryside Commission for Scotland. The threatened
area is in one of the Cairngorms鈥� most important zones for nature conservation
and is designated as a site of special scientific interest.
