Trump 'is plotting 21st-century Clearance'

ONE of the five home-owners facing possible eviction to pave the way for Donald Trump's £1 billion golf resort yesterday accused the tycoon of planning to "steal" his land in a modern-day version of the Highland Clearances.

David Milne, who is refusing to sell his cottage home overlooking the area where the main championship course would be built, has written to all 68 members of Aberdeenshire Council in advance of a critical debate on the possible use of compulsory purchase orders at the Menie estate development, where the American tycoon is planning to build the "world's greatest golf course".

Mr Milne and four other home-owners, whose properties cover about 100 acres next to the Menie estate, are refusing to sell their homes to the Trump Organisation, claiming that the prices they are being offered are derisory.

And the Trump Organisation has warned it may be left with no choice but to ask Aberdeenshire Council to use compulsory purchase order (CPO) powers to secure the properties, which it claims are vital to the overall Menie development.

Councillor Martin Ford, a leading opponent of the Menie scheme, has tabled a motion, due to be debated at a council meeting on 1 October, opposing the use of CPO powers at the Menie estate.

Full Story: The Scotsman