Donald Trump: Billionaire takes on golf course opponents

PROPERTY tycoon Donald Trump today clashed with the councillor whose vote led to the rejection of his £1 billion golf resort plans.

The billionaire was accused by Aberdeenshire councillor Martin Ford of showing "little understanding" of certain details of his application.

Mr Trump responded by saying: "No-one has ever told me I don't know how to buy property before. I appreciate that."

He was speaking at the first day of a local public inquiry into his plans to create the golf resort at the Menie Estate in Aberdeenshire.

Mr Trump faced questions throughout the day from a number of environmentalists.

At a press conference immediately after he had finished giving evidence at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre, he said the questions from his opponents "weren't very good".

Mr Trump wants to build a development with two championship golf courses, a five-star hotel and hundreds of houses.

Part of the course would be built on delicate sand dunes – a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Mr Ford's casting vote as chairman of Aberdeenshire Council's infrastructure services committee led to the plans being rejected last year, before the application was called in by the Scottish Government.

Mr Ford, who was subsequently sacked as chairman, told Mr Trump today he was "a bit surprised" that the tycoon had seemed unsure that the dunes were designated as SSSI when he bought the land.

Mr Trump said: "I know every inch of the site, I know the site, for example, far better than you do.

"Details come later, you don't say, 'let me spend a couple of years studying it' – it doesn't work that way."

Mr Ford later said: "Are you aware of the thousands of objections? It is not just me."

Mr Trump replied: "I see polls showing 93% in favour, I have never seen polls in the 80s and 90s like this.

"You can say what you want, but this is a very popular project and you probably know that better than anyone."

At the press conference, Mr Trump said he "really enjoyed" the experience.

He said: "The questions were fair, the answers were 100%, everyone's saying we really knocked it out of the box.

"I listened to the questions from the few opponents we had, and honestly, the questions weren't very good.

"Right now we would be 75% complete. It is unfortunate, but often I find great things take more time."

Earlier, Mr Trump was accused of claiming he would create the world's greatest golf course to justify building it on environmentally sensitive land.

He denied the accusation, saying he believed all along that the site could be the greatest in the world.

David Tyldesley, of the RSPB, suggested that Mr Trump's original vision had been to create a "world class course" but not necessarily the world's best.

Mr Trump said: "Let me make it clear so we can perhaps save some time. I am looking to build the finest golf course in the world if given the chance to do it."

Mr Tyldesley said: "I don't doubt that it's an aspiration but can I put it to you that it is only a recent aspiration in order to justify the use of SSSI."

Mr Trump replied: "That is absolutely false – the moment I saw the site I thought it had the potential to be the greatest golf course in the world."

Mr Trump spent much of the time promoting his environmental credentials.

At one point, chief reporter James McCulloch warned that there should be no calls from the crowd after Mr Trump described himself as "an environmentalist".

Mr Trump described the current state of the site as "kind of disgusting".

David Morris of the Ramblers' Association in Scotland asked him if the Aberdeenshire site was one of the best he had seen in the world. He said: "I don't think it is just now, I think it can be.

"There are dead bird carcasses, there are animals lying over the site which have been shot.

"Maybe some people are into that – I'm not."

Mr Morris then asked whether it would still be possible for the public to go to the sand dunes and watch golfers play, if it was within the law to do so.

Mr Trump said: "Subject to the law – but they don't go hand in hand.

"You don't want to be sitting with your family getting smashed by a golf ball."

The tycoon, who spoke for about four hours, said he did not know how many people currently used the beach, but added that he personally never saw people there and that it seemed "pretty desolate".

He added: "Before, no-one knew what it was. Now they are saying 'Menie, it's the greatest'."

Mr Trump repeatedly insisted that his development would help protect the dunes.

He said that his decision on when to build houses would depend on global market conditions.

When asked by Mr Morris how far he was willing to compromise, Mr Trump replied: "In the US we have the expression 'half-assed'. Let's do it properly."

The inquiry, which later heard from the course architect, is expected to last three to four weeks.