US-based campaigners have raised more than 37,000 names for a petition calling on Aberdeenshire Council to reject President Donald Trump’s plan to expand his golf resort in north east Scotland.
The SumOfUs group said the move “will cause irreparable damage to the beautiful and iconic dunes” ahead of the council’s decision next week over a second 18-hole course at the Menie resort, named Mary Macleod after the US President’s Scottish mother.
Scotland’s environmental watchdog has already raised a formal objection to President Trump’s company’s plans for a second course neighbouring the first controversial development.
Read more: Chris Deerin - World in turmoil as vile politics of identity rears its ugly head again
Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) is concerned about the risk of pollution and sewage at the new course in Aberdeenshire.
Scottish Natural Heritage also raised concerns over the proposed location of the second course at Balmedie.
Now the activists' group, which describes itself as a "community of people from around the world committed to curbing the growing power of corporations" is to submit its protest to the council.
Callum Hamilton, of SumOfUs, said: "Donald Trump’s planned expansion of his golf course would be an environmental and economic disaster, and will cause irreparable damage to the beautiful and unspoiled dunes iconic to the local community.
Read more: Chris Deerin - World in turmoil as vile politics of identity rears its ugly head again
"Aberdeenshire Council must heed the advice of multiple environmental agencies and reject the proposal.
"Trump was full of big promises when he proposed the golf course, most of which never materialised.
"Trump has demonstrated time and again that we cannot take him at his word.
"Donald Trump and his golf course are a bad deal for the people of Aberdeenshire, and this expansion must be stopped immediately.”
The Menie resort, along with the Trump Turnberry in Ayrshire, is now run by the President's son, Eric, above.
A spokeswoman for Trump International Golf Links, Scotland, said: "This is utter nonsense.
Read more: Chris Deerin - World in turmoil as vile politics of identity rears its ugly head again
"The second golf course already has planning approval in principle.
"The correspondence from SEPA and Scottish Natural Heritage is not to reject a second golf course but forms part of the ongoing dialogue about technical matters relating to its construction.
"The recent correspondence between Trump International, the local authority and statutory consultants is a normal part of the planning process for any application of this nature.
"The course does not occupy a Site of Special Scientific Interest and is not covered by any environmental designations.
"Our application is making its way through the planning system and this dialogue will continue until it goes before committee for consideration.
Read more: Chris Deerin - World in turmoil as vile politics of identity rears its ugly head again
"We are extremely confident in our proposal and that this process will reach a satisfactory conclusion acceptable to all parties."
A spokesman for Aberdeenshire Council, which considers the application on Tuesday, August 22, said: "We are aware of the petition.
"Every planning application is treated equally, adhering to planning guidelines and regulations.
"Anyone who wishes to comment on a particular planning application will be able to do so during the normal planning process."
The SumOfUs lists US postal addresses in New York and San Francisco.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel