Anti-Trump protesters furious at compulsory purchase ‘fudge’

Opponents of Donald Trump’s £1 billion golf resort reacted with fury yesterday to a move by Aberdeenshire Council that could permit compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) to be issued on four homes standing in the way of the American tycoon’s development.

The move to defer an immediate decision was greeted with outrage by protesters. One of them, David Milne, a former architect, said that he was surprised, shocked and baffled by what he saw as the councillors’ failure to stand up for their constituents.

Others in the public gallery were more outspoken, with many suggesting that there had been collusion between the council and the Trump Organisation. Some hurled abuse and cries of “spineless wimps” and “shame”.

Michael Forbes, 56, a former salmon fisherman whose family home is under threat from the development, was furious. “They always roll over when Mr Trump is around,” he said.

The uproar came at the end of a debate engineered by Councillor Martin Ford, one the most relentless critics of the Trump development, which envisages two championship golf courses, more than 1,000 exclusive homes and holiday apartments and a 450-bedroom Gothic-style hotel.

Mr Ford had proposed a motion which opposed CPOs on a point of principle — they infringe the rights of property owners — and had confidently expected that even an amended statement would support his position.

He was backed by Mr Milne, whose house is one of those in line for compulsory purchase. He gave an impassioned address before the crucial vote, that earned a standing ovation from the public gallery and encouraged several councillors to voice strident opposition to CPOs.

In the event, the council voted to postpone discussion of potential CPOs apparently in the hope that the Trump Organisation would win over local residents instead, and persuade them to sell their homes, without resorting to compulsory purchase.

With three of the four families involved implacably opposed to any such a sale, such an outcome seems unlikely, and Mr Ford predicted that the contentious planning proposals could now rumble on for months.

Hopes of progress, however, are slight. Even if residents could be persuaded, supposed “generous” offers for their properties seem less so to local analysts.

Mr Milne and his wife, Moira, have lived for 17 years in their four-bedroom home, a quirky former coastguard station that commands a view over the dunes and along the coast. Trump International Golf Links Scotland recently offered the couple £230,000; equivalent properties in nearby Balmedie are on the market from £295,000 to £465,000.

“It’s irrelevant,” Mr Milne said. “I don’t have a price. I love it here.”

Full Story: Times Online