Donald Trump's £1 billion golf course in Aberdeenshire officially opened today, with two of Scotland's top golfers joining the businessman for the first tee-off, despite calls for a boycott from conservation groups. The Scottish Wildlife Trust had urged Colin Montgomerie, Paul Lawrie, and Martin Laird not to participate, arguing the course was built on a protected area of significant wildlife and landforms. Lawrie was unable to attend due to bad weather.
The Trump International Golf Links course at Menie Estate sits on 4,000-year-old coastal sand dunes that form part of the Foveran Links Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Despite fierce opposition from environmentalists, Scottish ministers approved the development in 2008, deeming the economic benefits outweighed the environmental costs. The course was allowed under a 'stabilisation' plan for the dunes.
An action group, Tripping Up Trump, has supported local residents opposed to the construction. A documentary titled 'You've Been Trumped', produced by Montrose Pictures, chronicles the development and was screened in cinemas across Scotland and London last weekend to coincide with the opening. The film contrasts Trump's claims of environmental support with criticism from groups like the RSPB.
Environmental concerns may yet hinder the project's completion. Trump reportedly considered moving the course to Ireland after learning of plans for an offshore windfarm 2km away. In April, he told a Scottish parliamentary committee that wind turbines were 'one of the most serious problems Scotland will have or has had', and when asked to evidence his claim that they harm tourism, he replied: 'I am the evidence.'
David Milne, a resident of Menie Estate, expressed doubts about the course's future on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, stating: 'I do not believe this course is environmentally sustainable, and therefore will not be economically sustainable.'
