Donald Trump golf course go ahead
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Donald Trump has finally won his battle to build “the world’s best golf course” on the Scottish coast.
The billionaire has been fighting opposition by environmentalists to his resort on protected sand dunes at Balmedie, just north of Aberdeen.
The RSPB and the Scottish Wildlife Trust were among those who opposed the project, which was rejected by local council planners last year.
But this afternoon, after a public enquiry, the Scottish Parliament has confirmed the resort – complete with a luxury hotel – will go ahead.
Scotland’s finance secretary, John Swinney, said today there was “a significant economic and social benefit” in granting the application.
The First Minister, Alex Salmond, also said “the economic and social benefits for the north-east of Scotland substantially outweigh any environmental impact, and that this is demonstrated in the evaluation of the three reporters to the public local inquiry”.
Trump said today he was “greatly honoured” by the decision and pledged that the course would be “a tremendous asset and source of pride for both Aberdeenshire and Scotland for many generations”.
The plans were first approved in principle by the local Formartine area committee of Aberdeenshire council last year.
But the council’s infrastructure committee, led by the Liberal Democrat councillor Martin Ford, then sparked uproar among supporters by voting to turn down the resort application.
