Trump golf course in 18 months

Donald Trump, with his personal bagpipers in tow, has greeted press and VIP guests at Menie Estate, promising to open his new golf course in 18 months.
Opponents have vowed to continue to stave off potential attempts at compulsory purchase through collecting signatures on an online petition. The most high-profile landowner under threat is Michael Forbes. He has dogmatically refused to sell to Mr Trump, prompting the New York tycoon to call the property "a slum".

In other developments on Tuesday of this week, a Newburgh golf professional voiced his fears the course would be too expensive for local golfers to play on.

However,the billionaire property developer at the centre of the controversial scheme to develop Menie Estate greeted local dignitaries and golfing enthusiasts at a specially erected pavilion on the site of the planned golf course.

Speaking from a podium with the dunes as the backdrop, Mr Trump thanked his audience for attending. He was joined on stage by his son, Donald Jr, Lord Provost of Aberdeen Peter Stephen, and golf course designer Martin Hawtree. The event officially marked Trump International's renaming of the Menie dunes as 'The Great Dunes of Scotland' in honour of Mr Trump's mother Mary McLeod, who was Scottish.

"With these dunes, less really is more," said Mr Trump. "We've saved and stabilised the dunes, and have improved the situation. I've been to great golf courses, I've studied great golf courses - I own twelve world-ranked golf clubs - but this is something that's really beyond.

"We're going to produce something for both Aberdeen and Scotland that's truly superior. I plan to produce what I consider to be - and what you will all consider to be, soon - the greatest golf course anywhere in the world. It's going to be something special."

Mr Trump emphasised that the project would move quickly, as he would not be seeking loans to cover the costs, but would be financing the project with his own money. He revealed that TrumpInternational "plans to be cutting a ribbon in around 18 months", and that he would like Sean Connery and Colin Montgomerie to play the first round, along with local politicians who had supported the project.

Mr Trump defended the views he expressed in an interview the day before, where he described opponent Michael Forbes' farm as 'a pig sty' and 'a slum'. He also pointed out that his stabilisation of the dunes would act to preserve them for future generations, and that membership would be open to ordinary members of the public to play. Asked if he would consider a permanent relocation to Scotland, the tycoon replied: "Maybe I will.... I wouldn't mind."

Campaign group,Tripping up Trump, announced the group collected 5,000 signatures in their bid to protect a piece of land from compulsory purchase.

The group have bought one acre of Michael Forbes' land to divide between 60 people, making the process of compulsory purchase, they hope, extremely difficult. Thousands are anticipated to take part in the online project, named 'The Bunker'.

"We have recruited well over 4,000 members in less than a week," a spokesman told the Times. "We're aiming to recruit as many people as possible to send a clear message to Aberdeenshire Council that compulsory purchase is going to be a very, very difficult route to go down."

Green councillor Martin Ford, who has been a long-standing opponent of the project, said: "It is a very positive thing that people have come together to defend the basic human rights of others against a bullying developer and a spineless council.

Full Story: The Ellon Times