Opponents of Mr Trump's proposed golf resort reacted with anger to the decision to approve the scheme.

Opponents of Mr Trump's proposed golf resort reacted with anger to the decision to approve the scheme.

Helen McDade, head of policy for environmental group the John Muir Trust, said the approval made a "mockery" of the SNP government's green ambitions.

She said: "The government's reasoning seems to be that it is OK to ignore any number of protections that are in place to safeguard Scotland's environment, provided there is a big enough buck to be made at the end of it."

Jonny Hughes, head of policy at the Scottish Wildlife Trust, said: "The crazy thing is that there could easily have been both golf and environmental protection at Menie.

"Instead, government ministers have failed to deliver the sustainable part of their professed central purpose of sustainable economic growth."

Green MSP Patrick Harvie said: "Trump's plan is to build luxury holiday homes for foreign visitors who may never come, a golf course that few will play, and homes that few will be able to afford.

"We can only hope that the current economic crisis tears a hole in his business plan, and that he fails to get the money he needs to fund the project. Even the credit crunch must surely have a silver lining."

Martin Ford, the Aberdeenshire councillor who caused a furore in the council and his own Liberal Democrat group when he used a casting vote to reject the Trump proposals, was last night unrepentant.

Mr Ford was later sacked as chairman of the infrastructure and services committee and he and other environmentalists have opposed the development because of its impact on a Site of Special Scientific Interest on which part of the course will be constructed.

They want the course removed from the very dunes which make Donald Trump believe he can build the best golf course in the world.

"I am extremely disappointed by the announcement, particularly in respect of permission being given to develop the golf course on the site of the SSSI," said Mr Ford.

"It is a false dichotomy to claim it is one or the other. We could have had the development and the SSSI."

There was anger, too, from Michael and Sheila Forbes who live in a farmhouse at the centre of the development site which Mr Trump has tried to buy but who are adamant they will not sell or move.

"We have lived here for 40 years and the decision is a downright disgrace," said Mrs Forbes. "The public inquiry was nothing but a waste of money.

However, Anne Robertson, Liberal Democrat leader of the council, said the authority was "absolutely delighted" by the decision.

Alan Campbell, the chief executive of the council, said: "I think it sends out a strong indication to the rest of the world that we are in business in Aberdeenshire. A lot of other potential investors will be looking seriously at Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen City."

Geoff Runcie, chief executive of Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce, said: "The government must take credit for making this bold decision and for grasping this prize but we must also learn the lessons from the overtly tortuous planning process that we consistently put potential investors through."