Highly controversial plans to build hundreds of new homes at Perthshire’s biggest village have been approved.
Councillors voted to grant planning permission in principle for the Scone North project after a heated showdown between opponents and developers.
John Stephen, managing director of Perth-based construction firm A&J Stephen, said that if no decision was taken at Wednesday’s development management committee, he would appeal to Scottish ministers “within a week”.
Councillor Willie Wilson said he raised an amendment to approve the plan “with a heavy heart”.
The alternative, he said, was to allow the plan to be considered by an “outsider” from the Scottish Government’s appeals division.
More than 900 people objected to the plan, claiming it would lead to a vast increase in traffic and pollution problems.
Protesters gathered with placards and banners outside Perth and Kinross Council’s High Street headquarters ahead of the meeting.