BILLIONAIRE Donald Trump has said he would never have embarked on building "the world's greatest golf course" north of Aberdeen had he known about plans for wind farms nearby and across Scotland.
The America tycoon insists he was misled about the visual impact of the 11 offshore turbines he claims will blight the views from his championship course now completed at Menie, and he is disillusioned by the Scottish Government's commitment to building them across Scotland and around its coast.
Mr Trump made his comments in a submission to the Scottish Parliament's Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee as part of its inquiry into the Government's renewable energy targets. He will appear, alongside senior associates in his organisation, before the committee next week to give evidence.
In his written submission, published yesterday, he warns MSPs that creating a wind-farm landscape would be financial suicide as it "will completely end tourism in Scotland".
He says: "To be clear I did not want this battle, but as an investor with a significant stake in Scotland, it was forced upon me - I just can't watch Scotland's countryside and coastline be destroyed."
However, the original focus of his campaign against wind farms is the £150 million venture by Vattenfall, Technip and Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group, to build an 11-turbine European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre off the Aberdeenshire coast.
Mr Trump has already vowed not to allow any more work on his golf resort until the Government decides on that plan.
He still has a hotel, 950 holiday homes and 500 houses, and another course planned for the site.
He tells MSPs that allowing the Aberdeen plan to go ahead would be the equivalent of building a brutal 1960s' style block of apartments in Princes Street Gardens or on Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh.
And he asks: "Would anyone consider placing a wind farm in front of Edinburgh Castle?"
Referring to the Government's recent approval of the 103-turbine Shetland wind farm, he said: "The Shetland Islands are now slated for destruction, what next?"
Mr Trump says: "I came to Scotland with an idea and Scotland listened, at the very highest ministerial level, and actively encouraged me with overwhelming promises, public statements and various offers to support."
He says they had been advised military radar installations and shipping lane concerns near Aberdeen harbour "would always keep these hideous turbines away from our site" and he also had been assured by the wind farm developers the turbines would not be visible from the shore.
The tycoon wants Trump International to be a key part of the Scottish tourism economy. However, he states: "Constructing wind turbines so close to Trump International and the numerous other sites now threatened that are so vital to Scotland's tourism sector is simply bad policy and will lead to economic collapse. If I had known about the current wind turbine proposals, I would never have built in Scotland."
A Scottish Government spokesman said: "The evidence of strong output and employment growth in the renewables sector, and continued tourism growth in Scotland, contradicts Mr Trump's case – tourism continues to grow.
"Planning authorities and, where appropriate, the Scottish Government will only allow wind farms to be built where the impacts have been found to be acceptable – unsuitable applications are rejected."
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