CAMPAIGNERS fighting a quarry extension near the New Lanark World Heritage site have expressed disgust at a compensation scheme negotiated with a multinational developer.

South Lanarkshire Council, which approved the contentious extension to Hyndford Quarry last month, is drawing up a "community benefits scheme" with Mexican firm Cemex. It will net less than £30,000 for the picturesque local area.

It has emerged in documents that payments are likely to be set at 5p per tonne of sand and gravel extracted. This means annual payments will sit at just £27,000, compared to 25p a tonne for extracted coal in other areas.

Professor Mark Stephens, of Save our Landscapes, said: "It may be impossible to put a price on Scotland's heritage, it is priceless, but if you had to, it would surely be more than this."