Companies delighted to win Trump course deals

Experts will plant specialised grass plants to stabilise shifting sand dunes

By emma christie

Published:

North-east firms expressed their delight yesterday after winning key contracts to help the Trump Organisation create its championship golf course near Aberdeen.

Moray Landscapes, based at Cullen, near Buckie, and Stonehaven-based EnviroCentre will take on the first phase of work.

This involves planting marram grass to stabilise the 1.7m sqft of shifting dunes at Balmedie.

Sinclair Agricultural and Recycling Services, based near Ellon, is already working on the site.

The project, involving two golf courses, a 450-bedroom hotel, 950 holiday homes and 500 houses, was approved in principle by the Scottish Government last November.

Before the course can be built, however, specialists must lay marram grass to stabilise the sand dunes, which are a site of special scientific interest.

Moray Landscapes director Eddie McQuat explained the process.

He said special fences would be erected on designated parts of the dunes to help shield the area from wind and help build up the sand.

A covering such as jute or hemp will then be placed on the dunes to ensure the sand does not blow away.

Mr McQuat said young marram grass plants would then be taken from a “donor site” and transferred to Menie for planting on those areas. He stressed that only a small number of plants would be removed from the donor site to ensure there was no long-term detrimental impact.

Mr Quat has three decades of experience in the field. His first project was a dune-restoration project at St Fergus gas terminal near Peterhead after pipelines were installed.

“It’s the same principle,” he said. “It’s just being adapted for a different purpose. Before, it was restoration, and now it’s for sand stabilisation.”

Mr McQuat said he was happy to be involved with the Trump project.

“Having worked on significant coastal-erosion restoration projects throughout the north of Scotland, we are delighted to bring over 30 years experience to this major development,” he said.

EnviroCentre, based at Stonehaven, will provide an independent “ecological clerk of works” service at the site.

Yesterday, Donald Trump said the new contracts demonstrated his company’s commitment to boosting the local economy.

“In addition to the team of leading Scottish consultants working behind the scenes, I am delighted to announce the first of many local contractors who will help deliver this project for the benefit of the region and for Scotland,” he said.

Scottish Enterprise chief executive Lena Wilson echoed his sentiments.

She said: “This is an important milestone. This will ensure that the project will have a real impact on local companies and stimulating new jobs and investment for the north-east and wider Scottish economy.”