Donald Trump's lawyer yesterday admitted the tycoon's planned £1bn golf resort would have "significant adverse effects" on the environment.

Donald Trump's lawyer yesterday admitted the tycoon's planned £1bn golf resort would have "significant adverse effects" on the environment.

Colin Boyd, QC, said Mr Trump and his colleagues had never sought to "hide or massage" the impact the development, at Menie in Aberdeenshire, would have on the area's fragile dune system.

However, the lawyer said any damage would be far outweighed by the enormous economic benefits of the scheme, which includes a "world's finest golf course", a five-star hotel and 1450 homes. The scheme, he said, offered a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" for Aberdeenshire.

Mr Boyd was speaking on the last day of a month-long public inquiry on Mr Trump's plans to transform Menie Estate, north of Aberdeen, into a resort that could host international tournaments such as the British Open.

The plans were last year rejected by a committee of Aberdeenshire Council, despite the authority's overall political support for a development dubbed "Trumpton" by local opponents.

Mr Trump wants to build part of one of two golf courses on dunes officially declared a site of special scientific interest, or SSSI. Mr Boyd championed an "audacious proposal" which had been given the support of the business community, Aberdeenshire Council and "thousands of ordinary people".

Mr Boyd told the inquiry at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre that Mr Trump was not prepared to compromise. He said: "If the applicants are to realise the vision of an exceptional world-class course underpinning £1bn of investment, then the championship course needs to use the SSSI."

He arg ued that where there had been conflict during the inquiry over environmental evidence, the submissions of Mr Trump's experts should be preferred. "I submit that the applicants have employed the best environmental scientists and that they have not sought to hide or massage the impacts of the development," he said.

Mr Boyd said the applicant accepted the impact on natural habitats of the development and that plans to preserve them by "translocating" them to another area would be a "challenge".

However, he added: "In my experience of my client, the word cannot' does not appear in his dictionary and for an organisation used to constructing 90-storey tower blocks, translocation on this scale is not logistically daunting."

Mr Boyd was critical of the four councillors who gave evidence at the inquiry in opposition to the plans. He singled out Martin Ford, the councillor whose casting vote led to the rejection of the application last year.

"Turning to the dissident councillors' group, Mr Ford attempted to wrap himself in the mantle of the planning authority and argue that great weight should be accorded to their views," said Mr Boyd.

He went on to highlight potential economic benefits, citing "conservative estimates" of 1200 jobs created in Scotland in the operation of the development. In conclusion, Mr Boyd said: "In my submission this truly is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It would be a tragedy for Scotland if we let it pass by."

Closing the inquiry, reporter Karen Heywood thanked parties for contributing to a debate about which "everyone feels very strongly".