Rhonda Reekie is Scottish Greens Aberdeen Donside By-election hopeful
Trump Climbdown Cautiously Welcomed
Today's announcement by Donald Trump that he will not seek compulsory purchase orders against Menie residents who do not wish to sell to him (1) was today cautiously welcomed by the Scottish Greens. However, the party pointed to a letter he sent to Aberdeenshire Council in March 2009 (2) that completely undermines his claim never to have threatened the families with compulsory purchase, and noted that Mr Trump has a track record which means they cannot even now be completely reassured.
Councillor Martin Ford said:
"Mr Trump does appear, at last,
to have ruled out using compulsory purchase to force his neighbours from
their homes. This should be a day of real relief and joy for the
families at Menie. This is not a struggle they sought, and they were up
against Donald Trump's billions and local politicians who have backed Mr
Trump again and again. The residents have run a principled and
passionate campaign, they have been supported by the public both in
Aberdeenshire and across the country, and today it seems they have won.
"I am delighted for them, and I would now urge Mr Trump to break
with character and be sensitive to how he develops the land adjacent to
the families' properties. I would also like to thank the many thousands
of people who have actively campaigned for the residents' right to stay
in their own homes if they want to do so.
"As for Mr Trump's claim that he has 'no interest in compulsory
purchase and have never applied for it' that is downright untrue. Mr
Trump's lawyers wrote to Aberdeenshire Council on 4 March 2009 formally
requesting the Council 'to exercise its powers of compulsory purchase
... to acquire eight plots of land on behalf of Trump International Golf
Links Scotland'. The eight properties are listed and include the homes
of four families."
Robin Harper MSP, who jointly owns a plot of land at Menie, said:
"This
has been a long and unduly painful episode, and one that has revealed
substantial flaws in the Scottish planning process. Never again should
families who do not wish to sell be vulnerable to bullying of this sort,
and developers must never again be allowed to apply for planning
permission to demolish someone else's property against their wishes and
for purely private profit. Furthermore, the dunes at Menie were
identified as one Scotland's most important sites of special scientific
interest, a status supposed to protect them from development, but which
proved no protection whatsoever.
"Scotland is nothing if its land and its people are not protected,
and Ministers have stood aside as Mr Trump has attempted to trample all
over both. This has been a shameful saga, and it's not over yet. The
problems it has revealed must be remedied early in the next Parliament
if public faith in the planning process is to be restored. It would also
be a step forward if Mr Trump now abandoned his obnoxious attitude and
bullying tactics and made some attempt to come to terms with the needs
and aspirations of local people and his absolute duty to do everything
he can to protect the local environment."
Notes
1. See:
http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/2114299
2. See pdf of the letter here:
http://scot.gr/2c
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