Trump Receives Key Approval for Golf Resort in Scotland


On Tuesday, the Aberdeenshire Council, by a vote of 9-2, approved a request to expand the luxury golf resort Donald Trump is planning in Menie, north of Aberdeen, along the Scottish coast.

The vote allows Trump to develop an extra 50 acres around the proposed site if he can persuade the people living there to sell their land. One of the owners, David Milne, has refused to sell his property to Trump and will adamantly continue to do so.

Milne repeated that his home was not for sale and he intended to leave "horizontally in a box" before any such transaction occurs.

Trump needs to property to improve the design of the development. Four of the plots are in private hands, with one owned by the Aberdeenshire Council. The vote does not force the owners to sell their parcels to the New York-based Trump Organization.

The decision was welcomed by Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., who attended the meeting. But Milne, for one, was not impressed. "I'm disappointed but not surprised. Disappointed by the scale of the vote, but not the outcome. My home is not for sale, my intention at the end of the day is to leave there horizontally in a box, I can't make it any clearer than that."

The council met in the town of Ellon, and protests were held during the meeting. Some attendees held placards that voiced opposition, with one reading: "Trump tramples human rights. No clearances."

Meanwhile, a petition has been launched by the group called "Tripping Up Trump" against the possible use of compulsory purchase orders.

Trump's proposal for two championship-caliber golf courses, 950 holiday homes and 500 houses was originally rejected by an Aberdeenshire Council, before being called in by the Scottish Government and later approved.