Scotland calls public inquiry over Trump golf plans

0 Comments | AFP, February, 2008

EDINBURGH (AFP) — A full public inquiry will be held into an application by US property tycoon Donald Trump to build a luxury golf resort in northeast Scotland, the government in Edinburgh announced Thursday.

The Scottish government's finance and sustainable growth secretary, John Swinney, said he ordered the probe as the application "raises issues of importance that require consideration at a national level".

Trump wants to build the complex on prime dunes north of the oil city of Aberdeen, but has run into opposition from environmentalists concerned at its effect on wildlife and a local farmer who refuses to budge at any price.

Lawmakers intervened in December last year after a planning application was rejected, amid concern it could send negative signals...