DONALD Trump said last night he won’t invest a penny more in developing his Aberdeenshire golf resort as he turned his focus to a new project in Ireland. The US businessman vowed to turn prestigious Doonbeg course in County Clare into an “unparalleled” attraction after a court setback in his effort to block a north-east offshore wind development.
Hours after the Court of Session upheld a Scottish Government decision to approve the 11-turbine scheme at Aberdeen Bay, Mr Trump announced he would put all his “investment and energy” into his new venture – leaving a questionmark over the future of his Menie plans.
Mr Trump previously warned he would walk away if the proposals were approved, taking £1billion of investment and 4,000 jobs with him. Yesterday, he said: “We will appeal this decision and in the meantime we will be focusing all of our investment and energy towards our new acquisition on the Atlantic Ocean in Ireland.” Last night Aberdeenshire Council leader Jim Gifford said he hoped both the Menie and Ireland resorts could be developed in “parallel”.
The Trump Organisation also insisted that, despite the Court of Session ruling, the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) was doomed.
A statement said: “The decision has not altered our unwavering commitment to protect our investment in Scotland. Communities worldwide continue to challenge the destructive proliferation of wind turbines and we will remain a fierce opponent at the forefront of this battle.
“Despite the decision, the EOWDC proposal has numerous economic and legal obstacles that will ultimately prevent its construction.”
But the project’s spokesman, Iain Todd, described yesterday’s decision as a “major milestone” and said they would be pushing on to ensure they were connected to the grid by the end of 2017.
He said: “The Trump Organisation has had every opportunity to present their evidence and they have. The Scottish Government has considered the pros and cons of the project and came down on the side of consent, and now that has been validated by the decision of the court.
“It’s a major milestone for the project. We’ve still got a lot of work to do but it’s a big day for us.
“When we got the consent last year, it came with a lot of conditions which all have work attached to them, so there is a substantial work programme going on in the background to prepare for the construction of the project.”
The consortium behind the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) still have to clear another planning hurdle, after Aberdeenshire Council rejected plans for a substation connected to the scheme at Blackdog.
Last month, it was announced they would appeal the decision and yesterday Mr Todd said he hoped the process would be complete by the end of June. Mr Todd did not believe the north-east had to choose between the test centre and the Trump resort. “It’s always been our position both projects are good news for the north-east of Scotland. Both involve significant investment and jobs for the area.”
However, Mr Trump previously warned he would not invest further in his resort at Menie until he knew if the offshore development would be moved elsewhere. And yesterday’s announcement raised fears he may carry out his threat and axe his plans for a second championship golf course, hotel and holiday homes.
Mr Gifford said: “It would be very disappointing if that is what he is amounting to. He’s got investments all over the world. We knew he was looking at Ireland years ago while he was looking here.
“I would be hoping that this is in parallel rather than instead (of Menie).”
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