Panda inspectors due as enclosure cost soars

CHINESE delegates will visit Edinburgh Zoo next week to inspect the new panda enclosure ahead of the arrival of the bears, amid claims building costs have spiralled.

The team of four high level officials from the Wolong panda breeding centre will visit the attraction for the final time to make sure they are happy with the enclosure and their decision to loan the bears to the RZSS.

If given the nod, the attraction could be ready to receive Tian Tian and Yang Guang as early as the end of the month.

But sources have expressed concerns that suspended director Iain Valentine, who was instrumental in securing the deal to bring the pandas to the zoo, will not be there to lead the crunch discussions.

They also reported that delays to the project due partly to a lack of planning permission during the building of the enclosure had led costs to spiral from the original estimate of 250,000.

One source said that Mr Valentine, the director of animals, was the key person in the society with the breadth of knowledge needed to make the visit go smoothly.

The delegation, which is coming for a series of working meetings, will spend three days with Edinburgh Zoo's specialist team looking at various areas of the project from animal welfare to research.

They are visiting in advance of an official visit by the Chinese Wildlife Conservation Association, due to take place in coming weeks. While in Edinburgh, the Wolong team will also visit various research institutes the zoo works closely and which will be involved in the research aspects of the project.

Chief executive Hugh Roberts said RZSS bosses were "looking forward" to the visit and insisted that staff were fully prepared to guide Chinese officials around the site.

He said: "This is the final stage. Four delegates will come over at the beginning of next week to make sure the enclosure for the pandas is what they would like to see. This is a process of reassurance, and during next week they will be spending time with us and we'll reassure them it is all going well.

"If it goes well, we'll tick that box and take it to the next stage. We're completely prepared and it'll be absolutely fabulous.

"This visit is a significant milestone in the Giant Panda project, and an excellent opportunity to exchange information and ideas with the team who are currently responsible for Tian Tian and Yang Guang. We have been working hard on our plans for everything from housing the giant pandas to feeding them and their input will be invaluable in making sure we are on the right path."

When asked about the increased costs, Mr Roberts declined to comment.

The building of the enclosure was recently halted when bosses did not apply for planning permission. Officials admitted that due to turmoil caused by recent suspensions and a vote of no confidence in ex-chair Donald Emslie, bosses "forgot" to submit plans to the council's planning department when they decided to expand the enclosure and surrounding walkway. The pandas were originally predicted to arrive in September, although they could be in Edinburgh by the end of this month.