"The handling of this case has raised a number of matters of principle."

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As shocking as it may seem, turns out that the sudden approval of The Donald's Scottish golf course may not have been entirely on the up and up.

Eddie Barnes reports for Scotland on Sunday:

In a highly unusual move, the national director of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) has written to Finance Secretary John Swinney, reminding ministers of the need to be "politically impartial" and "transparent" when handling planning applications. Dr Veronica Burbridge warns Swinney that her members have been in contact to "express concerns" about the way the case has been handled.

The move follows a week of turmoil after ministers decided they, not the local council, would decide whether plans by American tycoon Donald Trump to build a huge golfing complex in Aberdeenshire should go ahead.

It emerged that a day before the decision, First Minister Alex Salmond, who is also the local MSP for the area, met two of Trump's representatives to discuss the case.

It then emerged that the pair had also met the Scottish Government's chief planner on the day the decision was made.

The matter led to a bitter political row which continues to rage, with opposition parties accusing Salmond of "sleaze", while the SNP accused them of risking an investment of up to £1bn.

In the RPTI letter, Burbridge states: "The handling of this case has raised a number of matters of principle. Members of the institute have expressed concerns that the manner in which this case is handled should not appear to damage the integrity of the planning system."

It adds: "They stress the need to ensure that procedures are transparent, respected and clearly understood by all those involved. Members of the institute are concerned that the approach to scrutiny of this case should be politically impartial and according to planning law and planning policy."

Opposition parties seized on the letter last night, claiming it supported their own concerns.

Scottish Lib Dem leader Nicol Stephen said: "This is an exceptional move which underlines the seriousness of the institute's concerns. This matter has grave implications for the conduct of Government.

"Ministers are ultimately responsible for the actions of Government and there is a fundamental lack of transparency and openness in the SNP Government's approach to this issue."

Swinney is expected to make a statement to Parliament this week answering questions about the Government's handling.

No one was available for comment from the Scottish Government.

The Donald Wins! The Donald Wins!

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Andrew Hough reports on the stunning turnaround in Scotland where the chairman was also ousted for having voted down The Donald's links course and housing development.
Aberdeenshire Council also dumped the committee chairman, councillor Martin Ford, who had used his casting vote to break a 7-7 impasse that threatened to scupper the plans on environmental grounds.

The Scottish government said last week it was intervening because the project to build two championship golf courses, around 1,000 homes, a luxury hotel and 36 villas on a pristine stretch of northeast coastline, was too "important" to be dealt with by the local council.

Trump said he was very pleased by the decision.

"It's unprecedented what happened," he told Reuters by telephone from his office in New York. "The people of Aberdeenshire so loved the project that the council voted for it, unanimously."
And...
He said Ford was removed as chairman of the council's infrastructure and services committee at the emergency meeting after a vote of no confidence was supported 26-10, with 29 councillors abstaining.

A Scottish government spokesman said the move would not affect the review as ministers would make the final decision.

Neil Hobday, director of the Trump project, said the group felt vindicated by the council's action.

"For us it is a validation or affirmation and it (the decision) did not surprise us as we have support of the people of this region and I think the politicians who are representing them listened," he said.

Ford could not be reached for comment. But at the time of the decision he defended his vote against Trump, saying the risk to the local environment was "too high a price to pay".

"The Isle o' Lewis Is Pining For Ye Trump"

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HC-GE749A_Trump_20051021124515.gifThe WSJ's Alistair Macdonald found some Scots who actually desire face time with The Donald: his mum's Isle of Lewis.

Lewis is heavily dependent on employment in the public sector, retail and construction, and fishing, though a fraction of its former size, remains a key employer. In Lewis, the island's only golf course, the 117-year-old Stornoway Golf Club, held a meeting a few weeks ago at which it debated ways to honor Mr. Trump. The club discussed naming one of the course's 18 holes after him and offering him life membership, says the club's honorary secretary, Ken Galloway.

Local councilor Murdo Macleod, no relation, wrote the real-estate mogul asking him to help turn Lews Castle, a deserted and frayed grand Victorian estate, into a luxury hotel. "Every American loves a castle. He can play golf here, do a bit of fishing, shooting, a bit of relaxation," Mr. Macleod says.

He says Mr. Trump hasn't replied. The local council mailed Mr. Trump an invitation to visit a few weeks ago. It hasn't yet heard back from Mr. Trump, a council spokesman says.

Mr. Trump says he saw both letters and passed them on to his people. George Sorial, managing director of Trump International Golf Resorts, says that Mr. Trump receives so many requests daily that he can't reply to them all.

The trevails of a reality television star. 

"The development he has proposed is much more Myrtle Beach than Balmedie."

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Alasdeir Reid pens a must read Telegraph piece calls the entire Donald Trump saga "Swiftean" and says the course should not be built because of the proposed surrounding development's very un-Scottish approach to the land. Then again, this is the same country that approved a grotesque looking hotel on the Road hole, so they aren't entirely immune from acts of reckless taste.
Of course, the First Minister has kept a public distance from the wrangle between Trump and the Aberdeenshire planning authorities, but reports have suggested that he was furious over the Council's decision to reject the American magnate's plans. Certainly, the move to 'call in' the planning application for consideration at senior government level is not the sort of assistance the rest of us can expect when our plans for modest conservatory extensions are turfed out by local planning officials.

There are some whose opposition to Trump is probably based on nothing more than a visceral antipathy to the larger-and-louder-than-life figure he presents, the mouthy yank who would sooner push down any door than knock and politely wait his turn.

Those who witnessed his toe-curling contribution to the 2004 Ryder Cup's opening ceremony might suggest he should immediately have been served with a lifetime ban from any further involvement in golf. Yet if Trump has been guilty of hyperbole at times, it is still unquestionably true that the links of Balmedie offer a canvas on which a great course could indeed be painted.

Yet golf is a relatively small component of a development which, if implemented in full, would almost inevitably be known as Trumpton. In full, the proposal under consideration is for two courses, a training academy, a five-star hotel, 450 holiday homes and around 1,000 houses. Trump's most remarkable achievement has been to set an agenda in which everyone seems to be discussing golf courses, when even his own website suggests a construction project that could comfortably be seen from outer space.
And this really gets at the main concern many clearly have:
The fact of the matter is that Trump has come up with a plan that pays no heed whatsoever to local tradition. For all his moist-eyed claims about honouring the land of his mother's birth - Mary Anne Trump, nee MacLeod, came from the Isle of Lewis - the development he has proposed is much more Myrtle Beach than Balmedie. Golf was Scotland's gift to the world; it would do better to stick to the original version rather than re-import its American form.

The Donald Serves 30 Day Notice; Scottish Government Folds Like Beach Chair

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Andrew Hough reports in The Guardian that the Scottish government is looking for ways to overturn the Aberdeen council's decision to vote down Donald Trump's proposed project.

The timing is curious considering Frank Urquhart's story of The Donald's purported 30-day option on a piece of land in Northern Ireland, along with Trump's threats to the council.

Last night, George Sorial, the Trump executive charged with masterminding the resort development, warned: "The clock is ticking. We are not going to compound one disaster with another."

Mr Sorial said: "There are several reasons behind our decision not to pursue the appeals process - the length of time it would take, the uncertainty of the outcome and also other business deals that we are actively pursuing. If we have an option to build what we want in another place it may be a better business decision for us."

He continued: "I have spent the whole weekend in Aberdeen and I have been reading about the public outcry [over the infrastructure services decision]. There have been two different surveys in which the support of the population has been put at 93 and 89 per cent.

"Over the past couple of days, an overwhelming number of the people have sent me e-mails and come up to me in the street and just expressed their complete dissatisfaction with the result and implored me to impress upon Mr Trump that the people really want this project. 

It's worth reading some of the comments of users following the Urquhart piece. (294 when I last looked). I'd say it's split more like 50-50. 

Donald Sends Out His Gumbas?

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Granted, his gumbas would now be 59-year-old Scottish women, but either way, it looks like it's getting ugly in Aberdeen. Thanks to reader Alan for this Katrine Bussey story.

A councillor who voted against US tycoon Donald Trump's plans to build a £1 billion golf resort in Scotland claimed yesterday she had been assaulted after opposing the project.

Debra Storr said a woman came to her house outside the village of Balmedie, Aberdeenshire, this morning and pushed her.

The alleged incident happened the day after councillors narrowly rejected Mr Trump's proposals.

Grampian Police confirmed they were making inquiries into an incident at a house in the Balmedie area.

Ms Storr, a Liberal Democrat councillor for Ellon and District, said: "I heard a banging on the door and when I opened it there was a woman standing there who proceeded to hurl abuse at me, obscenities regarding the Trump application.

"She was very angry it had been refused and continued hurling abuse at me.

"I asked her who she was and if she would moderate her language. She told me who she was, but she did not moderate her language. She continued hurling abuse at me and then she stepped across the door, put her hands on me and pushed me."

A spokesman for Grampian Police said: "We can confirm that a 59-year-old female has been interviewed and charged in connection with a minor disturbance."

Meanwhile John Huggan just killed any chance of being the next architect The Donald fires after this Scotland on Sunday column celebrating the demise of Trump's project.

Step aside Seve. Move over Tiger. Take a seat Monty. I'm done with all of you. Your times have been and gone, as have your posters on my bedroom wall. This morning I have a new golfing hero to admire. Three days ago, one Martin Ford, chairman of Aberdeenshire Council, used his casting vote to throw out plans for what US entrepreneur Donald "My mother comes from Stornoway" Trump boasted would be the "best golf course in the world" on a spectacular and - thankfully - ecologically-important stretch of dunes land north of Aberdeen.

Mister Ford, I salute you.

Call me cynical, but this whole Trump thing rang alarm bells right from day one. I mean, consider the source. Anything emanating from that large hole below Trump's nose - let's not even get into that

 

“I think it sends out a devastating message that if you want to do big business don’t do it in the north-east of Scotland.”

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Thanks to all the readers who sent the story of Donald Trump's planned Scottish course getting shot down by the Aberdeenshire Council. Here's the unbylined Guardian story, but this Louise Hosie and Matt Dickinson story for the Scottish Press Association was the most detailed, but I can't find it online to link.

The casting vote on whether to reject or defer the decision was made by committee chairman Martin Ford after a 7-7 deadlock.

Mr Ford warned members it would be a “grotesque mistake” to grant the application without any negotiation and voted to reject the application.

Shell-shocked George Sorial, Mr Trump’s right-hand man who was in Aberdeen for the meeting, spoke of his disappointment, also warning that the decision sent out a “devastating” message against doing business in north-east Scotland.

He said: “Obviously we are very disappointed.

“It is our position that the council has failed to adequately represent the voice and opinion of the people of Aberdeen and the shire who are ultimately the losers here.”

Mr Sorial added of the decision: “I think it sends out a devastating message that if you want to do big business don’t do it in the north-east of Scotland.”

Mr Trump’s team could now appeal to Scottish ministers, with the prospect of a lengthy public inquiry over the development a possibility.

Mr Sorial said they were “not sure” if they would make an appeal.

“I think we have been very frank all along – we do have options elsewhere in the UK and we will sit down now and look at that,” he said.

“We haven’t made a formal decision yet.”

This might explain what kind of people you're dealing with on the council:

Passionate arguments for and against the resort were heard during the meeting at the council headquarters in Aberdeen. Councillor Albert Howie said the chance for Aberdeenshire to have an international complex of this kind was an opportunity not to be missed.

“A golf course is a beautiful thing. They are an improvement to what, to me, is wasteland.

Beautiful dunes a wasteland? Obviously he hasn't been to Las Vegas.

But Councillor Alastair Ross said the council must play “hardball” with the Trump Organisation and refuse the application.“It is an economic investment – it is property speculation,” he said.“We are open for business but we have to do business that is good for Aberdeenshire – not at any price.”

His views were echoed by Councillor Debra Storr.“This is a very strange development, very outwith the ethos of the north-east of Scotland,” she said.“I have no faith in the application.

"When completed, it will be one of the finest of its kind anywhere in the world."

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medium_trump.jpgJudy DeHaven reports that The Donald is going to build another self-proclaimed masterpiece in New Jersey, but someone needs to tell him to stop using Gary Player's line to describe courses he hates. Thanks to reader Tom for this:

Real estate developer and casino boss Donald Trump said today he has inked a deal to rescue the troubled Encap development project in the Meadowlands.

Trump will now hire a master developer, but he said he already envisions a world-class golf course designed by golf course architect Tom Fazio - akin to the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster - as well as residential housing, open space and perhaps a hotel.

"I look forward to working on the development," Trump said this afternoon, hours after signing the agreement. "When completed, it will be one of the finest of its kind anywhere in the world."

Finest of its kind? The Donald is getting sloppy! 

Local Hero?

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Shocking as it may seem, but yes, The Donald is running into all sorts of trouble in Scotland. Shocking because, how on earth could anyone not want luxury homes, lots of gold crests everywhere, a massive hotel and two courses on environmentally sensitive dunesland? What is wrong with these people?

Thanks to reader Larry for this David Lister authored story on a fisherman who is standing in the way of The Donald.

To say that Mr Forbes, 55, is a thorn in Mr Trump’s side is an understatement. His 23 acres of land sit directly between the tycoon’s two proposed 18-hole golf courses and a planned 450-bedroom five-star hotel. A golf academy and driving range would be next door. Just a few hundred feet away would be the majestic sweep of Trump Boulevard, the main access road to the £1 billion resort.

“I’m right in the middle, you see,” Mr Forbes said yesterday. “I wasn’t against the golf course from the start, but then they just went mental because I wouldn’t sell. They said they’d make my life a misery and they are.”

Mr Forbes’s land, where a saltire hangs in one corner and a barn emblazoned with the words “No Golf Course” greets visitors as they arrive along the single-track unmade road, has become an embarrassing symbol of defiance to Mr Trump.

“All my family came from around here. My grandfather fished down here and all my uncles as well. I’m the last in line and I’ll see it out.”

Although the billionaire has insisted that he will build around Mr Forbes’s property, his irritation burst into the open this week when he launched an extraordinary attack on his neighbour.

Describing the land as “in total disrepair”, Mr Trump said: “Take a look and see how badly maintained that piece of property is. It’s disgusting. There are rusty tractors, rusty oil cans. I actually asked him, ‘Are you doing this on purpose to try and make me look bad, so I have to pay some more money?’”
It's always all about your Donald! And he took the words right out of my mouth...
The dispute has all the hallmarks of the plot of Local Hero, the 1983 cult film in which an American tycoon seeks to buy a tiny Scottish village, though on this occasion the dispute is about golf, not oil. Mr Trump has submitted plans to turn a 1,400-acre site at Balmedie, 13 miles north of Aberdeen, into “the world’s greatest golf course”, with two championship links courses, a five-star hotel, a golf academy, almost 1,000 holiday homes and about 500 private houses.
This AP story also looks at some of the issues facing the project:
The billionaire property developer aims to turn sand dunes at the Menie Estate, 15 miles north of Aberdeen, into a $2 billion golf resort with a pair of 18-hole courses, a luxurious 450-bedroom hotel, 950 vacation homes, 36 golf villas and 500 upscale homes.

Standing in his way are the feathered residents of the beach and rolling dunes -- seven species of endangered rare birds including Skylarks and breeding waders, particularly Lapwings and Redshank.

Local residents in the quiet nearby village of Balmedie are also up in arms at the proposed resort, branding it a "gated community" with too many houses which would spoil the bucolic atmosphere of the area.

Concerned that his investment is about to be pitched into the rough, Trump flew into Scotland this week to set out his plans ahead of a crunch meeting later this month by local council members. He warned he would drop the project if the houses were rejected and claimed the course would improve the local environment.

"Each and every golf course I have built has got awards for environmental protection, and I do not think anyone has got as many awards as we have." Trump told reporters at a press conference on the estate. "I believe environmentally, when we are finished, the course will be better environmentally than before we started.

"It's possible I could lose a great deal of money. It would cost a lot less money if we did not care about the environment."

Local protesters claimed the visit was designed to put the heat on members of Aberdeenshire Council, who are expected to make a decision on Oct. 29. If approved, it would then go to the Scottish government for final approval later in the year.

Local opinion is divided. The planning application lodged at Aberdeenshire Council in June has attracted more than three times as many letters of support as it has of objection -- 327 to 105. There is also a petition objecting to the proposal with 28 signatures.

In July, planning officials recommended approval for the project, which would create more than 800 jobs during peak season. But the plan is so controversial that councilors deferred their decision and are refusing to comment until after a consultation process is completed.

 

The Donald Gets Approval...Maybe

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Now, last week we learned that Martin Hawtree had been hired to do Donald Trump's future Open Championship host site course in Northern Scotland.  Well it seems the project has been approved according to the Times, or has it?

Of 432 letters received by the council, 105 objected and 327 supported the proposal. A 28-signature petition against was also received. Objectors said that it was the whim of one rich individual; it would increase house prices; and most of the jobs would be seasonal and low-paid. It was inappropriate in scale and would destroy wildlife and the rare sand dune system.

Those in favour, however, described it as the best thing to happen since North Sea oil; it was vital economically; and no other country would pass up such an opportunity.

Raymond Reid, Aberdeenshire Council’s head of development, said that the golf resort proposal was an occasion where the social and economic benefits were of national importance and these did override the adverse environmental impacts.

Tom Fazio, a leading American golf architect, has been appointed to design the courses around the dunes, which will be stabilised by planting marram grass.

Since Tom Fazio was never involved and Tommy Fazio was dumped in favor of Martin Hawtree so that The Donald could lure an Open, I'm not sure how much validity this story has. 

The Donald Fires Another Fazio

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Don't worry Tommy, it's a compliment really. And just think, you'll never have to sell your soul and pose for a photo like this one from Golf Digest:

fazio%20and%20trump.jpg Anyway, the release on The Donald's last ditch effort to save his Scotland project all while luring the R&A by hiring their Open Championship Doctor. 

DONALD J. TRUMP HIRES FAMED ARCHITECT DR. MARTIN HAWTREE TO CREATE WORLD-CLASS GOLF COURSE IN SCOTLAND

Aberdeen site will set new standards in the ‘home of golf’

New York, NY: 6th September, 2007, Donald J. Trump is teaming up with famed British golf course architect Dr. Martin Hawtree on plans to create what Mr. Trump hopes to be the finest golf course anywhere in the world.  With its majestic sand dunes stretching four miles along the sea in Aberdeenshire, Mr. Trump decided that Martin Hawtree was perfect to transform the Great Dunes of Scotland into a world class championship golf course, with construction scheduled to being in January, 2008.  

The course will be a Martin Hawtree Signature Design. Hawtree Limited, of Woodstock, England belongs to the longest continuous golf course architectural practice in the world. Hawtree, consulted by the R&A on some of the Open Championship links, is regarded as the leading authority of links golf and because of this coupled with Mr. Trump’s passion for building a true world class British Links Course in North East Scotland, Hawtree has been appointed as the lead architect on this development. He is world-renowned for his work at Royal Birkdale, Portmarnock, Lahinch and Carnoustie to name but a few.

“Martin Hawtree brings a distinct vision and flair to every course he touches,” Mr. Trump said.  “His work is impeccable.  He and I share such a passion for links golf and the tradition of the game is evident in the golf courses he designs. This is ideal for Trump International Golf Links, Scotland. This piece of land is so special and my relationship with Scotland is so special, that I wanted to work with the world’s best links course architect to deliver Trump International Golf Links, Scotland”

Hawtree said, “I am intrigued by balance in the composition of a golf hole, trying to ensure that the wider landscape surrounding a hole, in the case of this project towering dunes, is fully balanced by great playing interest within the fairway and green; that the one does not dwarf the other and that the interest is in some way generated by and in complete harmony with the surroundings.”
Wait, has Desmond Muirhead inhabited Martin's body?
A third-generation golf course architect, Hawtree has continued a family legacy that began in 1912.  The Hawtree list of courses built, reconstructed and/or consulted on totals more than 750, with partnerships and collaborations with historic golfing greats J.H. Taylor and James Braid.  The Hawtree history – begun by Frederick George Hawtree, who was joined by his son, Frederick William Hawtree in 1938 -- is revered within the industry for its experience and knowledge that are the heart of a multi-disciplinary practice known throughout the world.

Donald J Trump’s passion for Scotland stems from his pride in his Scottish roots.  His mother, Mary MacLeod, grew up on the Island of Lewis in Stornoway where her first language was Gaelic, before moving to New York City at age 20.  His decision to build the Trump International Golf Links, Scotland is the fulfillment of a long-held dream.