Unfortunately, the Scottish Government announced on Monday 3 November that it is prepared to give the go ahead for the Trump development at Menie.
First things first – we’re not anti-development, we’re not anti-golf, and we’re not anti-Trump.
We believe in sustainable development to make Scotland both wealthier and greener, which is why we’re surprised and disappointed with the Government’s decision to allow this development to go ahead on an unparalleled, supposedly protected Site of Special Scientific Interest, or SSSI.
The Government promised a “greener Scotland” as one of the five main planks in its vision for the country. We’ve praised much of what they’ve done for the environment, including an ambitious climate change Bill, and sustainable flooding and marine Bills. But it’s hard to see just how this decision can be made in a “greener Scotland”
The sad thing is that John Swinney didn’t have a simple ‘yes or no’ decision to make – we offered up a ‘yes but’ alternative. We commissioned a respected Scottish golf course designer to come up with a different design for a top level golf course on the site which avoided the most sensitive land, including the SSSI.
Unfortunately, Trump International Golf Links Scotland (TIGLS) refused to compromise throughout, or even consider our ‘yes but’ option – and now the Scottish Government seems to have followed suit. Our alternative could have brought all the economic benefits without such massive environmental damage, and we can’t understand why John Swinney hasn’t considered it. By ignoring it, it appears that the government has succumbed to knee-jerk political and business lobbying.
However, given that the Government “called in” the application for their own decision following the original rejection of the plans, we’re not too shocked at the outcome.
So where does this leave the Government’s vision of a “greener Scotland”?
What is the point of having a network of protected areas if they’re not actually protected? Will this set a dangerous precedent where, if the scale of your development is grand enough, all of Scotland is up for grabs?
The Government now has a job to win back its environmental credentials. It will need to confirm that this is a truly unique case, and not a precedent that says money talks. It will need to make clear that it does indeed value our special wild places for what they are. Studies have estimated the economic value of Scotland’s environment in the tens of billions of pounds – this is an asset that needs protecting, not undermining.
The diggers will soon move in and stabilise the dynamic sand dunes at Menie, and one of the best examples of such a landscape in Western Europe will be lost. The Inquiry report made clear that the loss of dynamism cannot be mitigated, and so we can cross Foveran Links SSSI off the list of ‘protected’ sites in Scotland. The question for now is whether our our other protected areas are safe in this Government’s hands?
What you can do
We appreciate that many people will be as disappointed as we are with this decision. We are examining the decision documents and will be looking carefully at all the applications Trump International will have to make as the development progresses.
In the meantime, you may wish to contact your MSP and express your regret that the Scottish Government could not find a way to consent this development without allowing destruction of the shifting sand dunes at Foveran Links SSSI. You can find your MSP using the link on the right.
You can contact us on campaigns.scotland@rspb.org.uk