By Lin Smith July 13, 2013—In 2006 Donald Trump bought 1400 acres of land near Aberdeen, Scotland, a town of about 220,400 people. Trump states, “When I saw this piece of land I was overwhelmed by the imposing dunes and rugged Aberdeenshire coastline. I knew that this was the perfect site for Trump International – Scotland. I have never seen such an unspoiled and dramatic sea side landscape and the location makes it perfect for our development.” One golf course has been finished, opening in 2012.  Plans also include several more golf courses, a large hotel, 500 homes, nearly a thousand rental apartments, 36 villas, a golf academy and housing for a staff of 400. After “reshaping” the coastal beauty of the land outside of Aberdeen, Trump will have created a $1.2 billion golf course resort.

Trump has met several challenges on the road to building his golf kingdom. First, a man named Michael Forbes, not of Forbes fame and fortune, but a farmer from Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Mr. Forbes has painted “NO GOLF COURSE” on his shed and, digging his heals in, has refused to sell his farm to Trump–at any cost, even though The Donald has offered him quite a sum of money to evacuate the premises. Trump has called Mr. Forbes’s land “in need of repair, and an unsightly menace to his golf course patrons.” So, what did the Donald do?? He fenced off part of Forbes’s land even though Forbes owned it! AND, according to Wikipedia, was threatening to use “Compulsory Purchase Order” to force the family out, saying, “The property is a slum and will spoil the view from my new hotel!” And this farmer’s reply—a healthy, “Trump can shove his money up his arse!” Hats off to Mr. Forbes! The struggle between Trump, Forbes, and the other farmers  in close proximity to the golf course, has been made into a documentary appropriately named, “You’ve Been Trumped.” 

Trump’s next challenge to his golf kingdom is wind turbines. Scotland has a long term goal to become completely independent of fossil fuels by the year 2020, and this goal is fast becoming a reality. Renewables such as windpower, biofuels, and energy from tidal waves are currently under development, with an estimated 28,000 jobs being created, making it a step closer to Scotland’s goal of being 100% free from fossil fuels in 7 years. The reality of global warming has driven renewables to the top of Scotland’s political agenda. Their largest political party, the SNP, claims,” Scotland will do more to lead the world in the area of renewable energy, tackling climate change, and do our part in creating a more peaceful and stable planet.”

To Trump’s dismay, the remaining work on his Magic Kingdom for golfers has come to a halt, as Scotland has recently approved its newest windfarm 1.5 miles off the coastal shore of Aberdeen. Trump threatened to sue if the project went forward, but instead has halted his project, threatening to move it to Ireland (does Ireland know??) Trump has said the construction of the 11 massive wind turbines in the Aberdeen Bay will be ” detrimental to tourism, will kill the bird population and will spoil the view from his new hotel!” Sounds to me like the turbines and Mr. Forbes have something in common–they both can make The Donald’s hair stand on end–not an aesthetically pleasing vision either! For the record, the top offenders of bird kill are cats, cars, pesticides, powerlines, windows, and communication towers.

Meanwhile, Scotland’s government and the Aberdeenshire Council have sent a petition to the Scottish Parliament with 20,000 signatures calling for “a public inquiry into the handling of Trump’s controversial golf resort development.”

And, finally, this one made me laugh! A reader’s comment on the article, “Trump and the Turbines” by Theresa Riley, “The sooner Scots see this buffoons erse disappear ower the horizon the better….yer no wanted in Scotland wee donny!”

Related articles

• Thar He Blows: Trump Tussles With Scots Over Wind Turbines (wnyc.org)
• Donald Trump is driving pride out of communities in Aberdeen (dailyrecord.co.uk)
• Donald Trump Opposes Wind Farm near His New Golf Course in Scotland (natureworldnews.com)