Judy Murray has been compared to Donald Trump amid suggestions the SNP Government pandered to both of them in planning rows as they were "celebrities".
Green MSP Mark Ruskell claimed the £70m Park of Keir project near Dunblane, which has been championed by the mother of Wimbledon aces Andy and Jamie Murray, received special treatment because of its connections.
Ministers have said they are minded to grant in principle planning permission for the tennis and golf centre, despite the development being recommended for rejection by a Scottish Government-appointed planning reporter after a public inquiry.
The plan, which included 12 tennis courts, a golf academy, hotel and housing, has been backed by Sir Alex Ferguson and Colin Montgomerie, but drew 1,000 letters of objection.
At First Minister’s Questions, Mr Ruskell likened the affair to Donald Trump’s Menie golf course in Aberdeenshire, which was also rejected by local councillors but approved by a Scottish Government reporter and ministers in 2008.
He said: “Last week, the First Minister’s Government approved mansions, a hotel, a golf course and a tennis centre on the protected Park of Keir near Dunblane.
“The decision overruled the local development plan; it overruled Stirling Council; and it even overruled the Government’s own planning reporter.
“Did the First Minister’s Government not learn anything from the disastrous decision to approve Trump’s golf resort? Celebrities should not rule the planning system.
“The real national tennis centre is only 2 miles up the road, at the University of Stirling.”
He also asked Ms Sturgeon to rule out a public bail out if the project failed.
Ms Sturgeon replied. “I am not sure whether the member was trying to put Judy Murray into the same category as Donald Trump - I certainly hope not.
“Planning decisions are taken absolutely in line with planning rules and no other considerations are taken into account.
"The planning minister carefully considered all aspects of the reporter's report and concluded the development is of regional and national importance for sport.”
Ms Sturgeon's spokesman later said it was "inappropriate" to bracket Ms Murray and President Trump.
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