Plans to build a golf course designed by the legendary Jack Nicklaus could be bunkered by a string of objections from government agencies.

The FM Group is behind the £80million project to transform the Ury Estate at Stonehaven, with housing, a boutique hotel and the championship golf course in the pipeline.

But the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa), Historic Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Forestry Commission Scotland are just some of the heavyweight bodies to raise concerns about the course.

Aberdeenshire Council’s flooding team has also recommended the project be thrown out.

The developer already has permission to build 230 homes on the Mearns estate, and earlier this week work started to restore the B-listed Ury House to its former glory by turning it into a hotel.

If the final phase of the project – the golf course – gets consent from Aberdeenshire Council, the completed development could boost the economy by £55.5million and create 200 jobs.

But the developers will first have to convince councillors to see past the objections, which raise issues ranging from flooding to the impact on wildlife and the nearby 140-year-old woodland.

Claire Pritchett, senior planning officer for Sepa, warns in her objection that the golf course plans “may place buildings and persons at flood risk” – adding much of the landscape was on the flood plain of the Ury Burn and the Cowie.

She said: “There are a number of elements of the golf course proposal which have the potential to have an adverse effect on the risk of flooding and further information is required to address those issues.

“We object to the proposed development due to lack of information on flood risk, surface water drainage, engineering activities in the water environment, groundwater dependent terrestrial ecosystems and water abstractions.”

Historic Scotland has objected on the basis that there was no mention of the impact the development may have on the Cowie Line monument near Ury House.

The structure was a field defence near the Cowie Water made up of two pill-boxed used during World War II.

A spokeswoman for FM Group said the developers were working hard to address all the concerns raised.

She added: “We are fully aware of all the additional information required by some of the statutory consultees which is standard with this type of development.

“Our experts are working through them to provide robust, technical detail and we are confident of satisfying the requests for more information and fully addressing any concerns.

“This is part of a rigorous process to ensure we have the highest quality proposals to deliver a world-class development that will have a major positive impact on the long-term economy of Stonehaven and the surrounding area.”

Last night Phil Mills-Bishop, vice-chairman of Stonehaven and District Community Council said the group was generally supportive of the plans which would put the town on the map.

He said: “The community council was pretty supportive, we were not totally opposed to the development. We did want to see a number of things like an environmental impact assessment and we did want to see an independent hydrologist checking whether there would be surface water run-off.

“However, generally – like others in the town – we thought an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus golf course, if it was approved, would certainly put Stonehaven on the map. It is pretty exclusive.

“There are some serious objections and they have to work very, very hard to do everything they can to mitigate these things. There is an economic case to be made as well.”

The plans will be decided by Aberdeenshire Council at a later date.

Fears for protected wildlife

Badgers, otters and water voles are among the animals which the Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) fear could be affected by the development.

The body has warned the developers may require licences in order to proceed with work if the animals are nesting close to where work is taking place.

A spokeswoman for SNH said one family of otters – a European Protected Species (EPS) – could be “susceptible to disturbance” during the development stage if the plans were approved.

A number of badgers are also believed to be within 98ft of other planned work.

The SNH has asked that both an otter and a badger protection plan be submitted by the developer along with the application.