A CAMPAIGN to stop the Trump Organization building another golf course in Scotland has gathered over 30,000 signatures - but will not be formally considered.
Proposals were submitted for a second 18-hole course at Balmedie in 2015, with councillors yet to make a decision.
Now it has emerged campaigners have collected over 32,000 signatures from people opposed to the US President's plans.
Members of campaign organisation 38 Degrees presented the petition to Isobel Davidson, chairwoman of the Formartine area committee.
But Robert Gray, Aberdeenshire Council’s head of planning and building standards, said that the deadline for representations to be made was November 26, 2015 "and so this petition will not formally be considered when councillors discuss it".
He added: “The planning service is however aware of the petition and if there is anything new within it which ought to be considered as part of the application, this will be done.
“Members of the public have 21 days from the date of publication of this type of application to make representations, which will only be considered as part of the decision making process if they relate to a material planning consideration.”
A Survation opinion poll suggested 68 percent of people in Scotland do not want another Trump course.
When "don't knows" are included in the figures, 53% said they are opposed to the course, 25% supported it and 22% don't know.
Stewart Kirkpatrick, head of Scotland for 38 Degrees, said: "After the first course failed to deliver the promised investment and jobs bonanza, Scots now feel the new plan just won't bring economic benefits to the area."
Proposals were submitted by the Trump Organisation for the course in 2015, three years after Trump International Golf Links opened.
But is has faced huge opposition from locals.
But Sarah Malone, executive vice president of Trump International Golf Links Scotland, said the existing course "has brought significant economic benefits to the tourism industry and put Aberdeenshire on the world map", adding that the plan for a second course "continues to attract great support".
"The detractors who make these ignorant and false statements should be ashamed,” she said.
"At a time when the north east of Scotland is so focused on the diversification of its economy, the Trump investment and future plans have never been more critical."
She also said the argument to build world-class golf and leisure facilities at Menie Estate was fought and won 10 years ago, which included a second golf course.
“Planning consent has already been granted and the project continues to attract great support," she said.
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