THE public inquiry into Donald Trump's controversial plans for a £1 billion golf resort in Aberdeenshire could begin in the middle of June, it emerged yesterday.
Scotland's most senior planning-appeals official is to head the inquiry into the American business tycoon's proposals to transform an environmentally sensitive stretch of the North-east coastline into a massive golf resort, leisure and housing devel
opment.
As part of the process, a pre- inquiry hearing will be held in Aberdeen later this month to decide on the main issues to be addressed and to determine the scope of the inquiry.
Last month, Mr Trump expressed surprise over the announcement of a public inquiry into his golf-resort plan, but said it could be a positive move provided "it can go quickly".
And he warned: "If the process takes too long, I'll have no choice but to go some place else."
Last night, George Sorial, the Trump Organisation's managing director of international development and Mr Trump's right-hand man, said: "We are satisfied that the process is moving forward, albeit slower than we would have liked, and accept that concrete timescales will not be available until after the pre-inquiry meeting.
"Given the amount of scrutiny our proposals have been under and the considerable work done to date with the statutory consultees, we are hopeful the public local inquiry will be an efficient process that focuses solely on the main issues."
The inquiry will be conducted by James McCulloch, the Chief Reporter and director for planning and environmental appeals (DPEA).
Last night, a spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: "Mr McCulloch will hear the evidence and report to ministers. A pre-inquiry meeting will be held on 26 March at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre.
"The purpose of the pre- inquiry meeting is to discuss the administrative arrangements for the inquiry. No discussion will take place concerning the relative merits of the proposal. The meeting will focus on issues such as the identification of the main issues for the inquiry, the scope and sequence of evidence and the likely duration and scale of the inquiry."
The spokeswoman added: "The Chief Reporter considers that the inquiry should start in the second half of June. An exact timescale will only be available after the pre-inquiry meeting."
The £1 billion development at the Menie Estate, near Balmedie, was "called in" by the Scottish Government after the Trump application was rejected by Aberdeenshire Council's planning committee.
John Swinney, the finance secretary, announced last month that the application would have to go to a public inquiry as it had raised issues of importance that required consideration at a national level.
He said at the time: "I am determined there should be no unnecessary delay in considering this application and will make my decision within 28 days of receiving the DPEA report."
Mr Trump's plans for the 1,400-acre development site include two championship courses, a five-star luxury hotel with 450 bedrooms, 500 residential homes and almost 1,000 timeshare apartments.
The project was one of the most divisive to come before Aberdeenshire Council and attracted 2,835 letters of representation – 985 against the development and 1,850 in favour. The scheme has been lauded by business and tourism leaders as a boost for the area's economy.
But conservation groups, including Scottish Natural Heritage, the Scottish Wildlife Trust and RSPB Scotland, have objected to plans to build part of the main championship golf course on a unique system of sand dunes designated a site of special scientific interest.
NO STRANGER TO MAJOR PLANNING REVIEWSJAMES McCulloch, who has been appointed by the Scottish Government to head the Trump inquiry, is Scotland's most experienced planning inquiry reporter.
Mr McCulloch is the Chief Reporter and director for planning and environmental appeals at the Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals, which has its headquarters in Falkirk. He has been involved in planning since the early 1970s and joined the Inquiry Reporters Unit, which was the precursor of the current planning directorate, in 1984.
Mr McCulloch has presided at a number of major planning inquiries throughout Scotland, including the inquiries into the Duntanlich barites mine, the Scotland-Northern Ireland electricity interconnector and the Westfield combined cycle gas turbine and clean coal technology plant.
Last year, the planning directorate dealt with a total of 1,065 planning permission appeals, 121 planning enforcement appeals, as well as five local plan inquiries.
The full article contains 752 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
