CAMPAIGNERS are angry after the city council said the fate of the £300 million Caltongate development would now be decided at two separate meetings.

They have accused planning officials of being "pushed" into breaking a promise to hear all the applications for the massive scheme together.

Councillors will meet on December 5th to discuss the bulk of developer Mountgrange's plans, including a five-star hotel and conference centre, a string of office blocks, cafes, bars and restaurants and a cultural quarter.

Controversial proposals to bulldoze two listed buildings will also be put forward, although the creation of a new Royal Mile pend will not be debated.

The London-based developer announced last month that it was shelving plans to demolish a Canongate tenement to provide a "breakthrough", in favour of the new pend.

The alternative plans - along with the original application for a breakthrough - will now be considered in the new year.

Sally Richardson, spokeswoman for the Save Our Old Town campaign, noted that the public consultation on the new-look Canongate had only closed on Friday.

And she said the council had "backtracked" on a promise to hear from all the concerned groups individually. All the objectors will now have to make a joint representation to the committee.

"Manish Chande, chief executive of Mountgrange, has made no secret of the fact that Caltongate is an all-or-nothing development," she said. "Yet it has consistently pushed the council to consider applications in a piecemeal way, in order to understate and simplify the enormous damage to the World Heritage Site and disruption to the local community."

Moira Tasker, director of heritage watchdog the Cockburn Association, said: "We've repeatedly stated the need to deal with the planning applications all together. Many overlap and they are related to one another."

A spokesman for Mountgrange said the company was looking forward to having its plans considered at the December meeting. "We believe it is right that the new application relating to the Canongate connection, which was made in response to heritage and local concerns, be given sufficient time for consultation before it is considered at a further hearing."

Alan Henderson, the council's head of planning, said: "We had previously said that our aim was to hear all applications together.

"However, given the number of applications and the recent 'alternative' application for the eastern part of the site by Mountgrange, it became clear two hearings would be required to consider all individual applications and the overall plan in the necessary detail."