Has Scotland been Trumped?

Aberdeenshire councillors on the Formartine Committee gave the go-ahead for the preparatory work to be carried out to stabilise the shifting sand dunes around what would become the championship golf course Donald Trump wants to build. A masterplan for exactly what is planned for the estate is expected to be ready for submission next year.

Mr Trump Jnr (pictured above) said of the work which started yesterday: "This is a long-term project, it's one component of many that is getting underway.

"We are trying to deliver the greatest golf course anywhere in the world, we believe we have the land to do that, we believe we have the team to do that. Golf has been a major passion for my father.

"There have been a couple of detractors that don't want this to go forward. It's getting ridiculous and childish. We have been under incredible scrutiny. That will never be enough for some of the extremists.

"I think maybe the stunts we have seen will be their last hurrah."

I supported this project initially but the more I hear from Donald Trump the more I realise we're being duped. The man and his hangers-on are bullies. They have no regard for Scotland whatsoever and their determination to ruin lives and crash through their plans is not the way I want to see business done in Scotland.

The arrogance of Trump & Co knows no bounds and being rude about the opposition isn't the Scots way. 'The greatest golf course anywhere in the world' - Mr Trump, you're dreaming.

We (Scotland) have St Andrews, about 100 miles to the south of your project and it has a world-wide reputation as the home of golf. The Old Course is part of an ancient community which supports visitors whether golfers or not. St Andrews doesn't suffer so much from the lengthy haars which drift in from the North Sea. The Aberdeenshire coastline is well known for haars which never clear all day.

I live in an county which is well known for the number of excellent golf courses it provides and know many golfers. Not one has expressed any desire to play on Mr Trump's invention and it is widely thought it will be a place for the wealthy to come, play, then go away.

When there is the choice of St Andrews, around a 45 minute car drive from Edinburgh airport and Mr Trump's course a 2 hour drive, most golfers will chose St Andrews because it is the best.

I would like to wish success to this project but now, sadly, I don't see it being of any benefit to Aberdeenshire or Scotland and that's why I feel Scotland has been trumped.

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Trump's Tortuous Tactics

Donald Trump, after receiving permission from the Scottish government to go ahead with his golf course complex in Aberdeenshire, gave Susan Munro his personal assurances that he did not need her land.

"The last thing Mr Trump said to me was Susan, I don't need your house, I don't need your land, I have plenty, we'll be good neighbours'. It's been my home for almost 30 years, but the council will just give in to Trump.

"This is only the start. Aberdeenshire has made a big mistake letting them in because nobody is going to benefit at the end of the day except Trump. It's our heritage, a protected bit of land."

Ms Munro has lived at Leyton Cottage for the past 28 years and now Formartine Area Committee has agreed the magnate will be allowed to expand the development to include five 'parcels' of land the tycoon is yet to acquire. The Committee voted nine to two in favour of recommendations to grant planning permission.

Of the five areas of land, situated in and around the site of the two proposed golf courses, four are privately owned by locals and a car park is owned by Aberdeenshire Council. Despite not having included them in the original planning outline, Trump International Golf Links Scotland (TIGLS) now insists they are a 'must-have' in order to create a 'world-class destination'.

Donald Trump Jnr and project director George Sorial insisted the organisation would continue to negotiate with the affected landowners and were hopeful a resolution could be met before moving to compulsory purchase orders.

The four home owners intend to challenge the current applications in court.

Why Formartine Area Committee voted in favour of the planning permission I have no idea. What I do know is that Donald Trump and his band of merry men are bullies. When the Trump project was first given the go-ahead by John Swinney, folk I know who live in the area told me Trump would want more and more land. I didn't believe them. I do now.

This project is becoming more and more distasteful with every day that passes.

Source: Herald

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