Donald Trump got turned down!!!!!!!!!

[pogofish]

Of course not.

Just articulating my concerns & why.

The claims on infrastructure also need to be taken with a pinch of salt, so far they have been strongly opposed to the very limited plans already laid for the area & I don't see that changing in a hurry.

 

[pogofish]

Martin Ford has now been put-up for Rector of Aberdeen Uni.

Press release here:

http://www.abdn.ac.uk/mediareleases/release.php?id=1312

Excellent.

 

[pogofish]

And an "exclusive from Trump in the EE:

http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/606346

Interesting to note that the twunt was claiming to be ten million out of pocket (personally) just a few weeks ago but now claims to have only spent two million. Even excusing a bit of variance because of the poor exchange rate, this discrepancy is a bit much.

Here is the original article:

Project manager George Sorial would not reveal the exact sum spent so far by his boss, but he said it was already “tens of millions of pounds”.

“Menie House and 1,400 acres of land cost £6.5million,” he said, “but on top of that we have had to pay for legal fees, insurance, engineers, consultants, and a huge amount of resources have gone towards environmental issues.

http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/538438?UserKey=0

So, one, other or both of these articles are utter balls & I'm putting my money on both. Demonstrable shite for once.

 

[pogofish]

I raise a glass to the artist who produced this:

 

[innes]

This just gets funnier every time I see it!


Save the Dunes
fgreed.org

 

[Lemon Eddy]

Just read that vanity fair article. I loved this bit:

"How are they going to have the tournament when the Harr sets in?,” Valerie asks. I put this to Trump. He hasn’t heard about the Harr and lets George Sorial field the question. Sorial says it doesn’t have any impact in Aberdeen."

The harr has no impact on Aberdeen? On Sunday afternoon it was brilliant sunshine 20 miles out of town, but when I drove down to the beach I'd say visibility was about 10 yards. Fuck, if he does get to build his course he's in for a hell of a rude awakening on this one.

 

[geminisnake]

Fuck, if he does get to build his course he's in for a hell of a rude awakening on this one.

He and his men won't give a shite as long as their bank balances are up. That is all he cares about afai can see.

 

[pogofish]

Oh look:

http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/615768

All the great & good who might be coming to Trump's one day.

Ahh, I can see the crush on Union St already!

 

[pogofish]

He is coming over again!

According to the Beeb:

US tycoon Donald Trump will give evidence in person at the public local inquiry into his plans for a £1bn golf resort in Aberdeenshire, he has said.

Speaking from New York, the US billionaire said he wanted the public to share his enthusiasm for the plans.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/7375632.stm

His welcome might become interesting!

 

[geminisnake]

His welcome might become interesting!

Oooh, is that my birthday treat?? Getting to throw icky things at Donald?? Inquiry starts on my birthday.

 

[pogofish]

Looks like the screw is being turned:

THE councillor sacked for using his casting vote to reject Donald Trump's £1 billion golf resort plans yesterday accused the billionaire of trying to "gag" him at the forthcoming public inquiry into the development.
Martin Ford and three other Liberal Democrats on Aberdeenshire Council, who voted against the Menie estate resort, have indicated they intend to give evidence at the hearing, which is due to start on 10 June.

However, Mr Ford and his colleagues yesterday claimed that a letter sent by a senior member of the Trump organisation's legal team to the chairman of the inquiry appeared to be an attempt to silence them or prevent them from appearing at the hearing.

http://news.scotsman.com/donaldtrump/Trump-39trying-to-gag-axed.4044185.jp

 

[pogofish]

So he is back to "National importance" again.

DONALD Trump plans to stand firm on his claim that the "national importance" of the social and economic benefits from the development of his £1 billion golf resort in Aberdeenshire must take precedence over the "adverse" impacts on the environment, it emerged yesterday.
A statement of case, lodged by the Trump organisation in preparation for next month's public inquiry, makes it clear the tycoon has no intention of moving his championship ADVERTISEMENT

golf course away from the fragile sand dune system at the centre of widespreadADVERTISEMENT

opposition to the controversial scheme.

http://news.scotsman.com/donaldtrump/Trump-stresses--resort39s-39national.4061287.jp


Was the equivalent economic impact of the scheme not reckoned to be no more than a couple of average size supermarkets?

Scottish GDP - £86 billion in 2006. Of which a significant part is generated in the North East, before oil (which is chalked-up to the UK treasury anyway).

Trump's undoubtedly grossly overinflated claims of anything between £300 million & £2 billion just don't seem to match-up, do they?

 

[pogofish]

Well, Ford didn't get the rectorship but Steve Robertson will undoubtedly do a good job.

Doric entertainer is new University Rector
One of the North-east comedy trio Scotland the What? has been announced tonight as the new Rector of the University of Aberdeen.

Stephen Robertson MBE takes over the three year tenure this July after being voted in by students. The current incumbent Robin Harper MSP steps down on June 30.

The University of Aberdeen graduate stood against Aberdeenshire Councillor and plant ecologist Martin Ford, and local journalist and community worker Hamish Mackay.

Mr Robertson polled 928 votes to Mr Ford's 852. Mr Mackay was eliminated after the first round of the Single Transferable Vote count.

The new Rector-to-be said: "As a graduate of the University of Aberdeen I am absolutely delighted to have been voted in as Rector. Some people have greatness thrust upon them and today I had greatness thrust upon me!".

The Scotland the What? trio met as students at the University and made their debut at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1969. They retired after their final performance at His Majesty's Theatre Aberdeen in 1995 and were recently granted the Freedom of the City of Aberdeen.

Mr Robertson was an active member of the student body, performing in the Student Show for five years and representing the University at squash. His dedication to student union activities culminated in his election as President of the Union Management Committee 1956/57.

 

[pogofish]

Some new submissions to the application here:

http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/planning/apps/detail.asp?ref_no=APP/2006/4605

Right down the bottom of the page.

http://www.ukplanning.com/aberdeens...tentType=application/octet-stream&pageCount=1

http://www.ukplanning.com/aberdeens...tentType=application/octet-stream&pageCount=1


Along with a new site plan:

http://www.ukplanning.com/aberdeens...LUME5&contentType=application/pdf&pageCount=6

I see they have now changed the scheme's name to "Trump International Golf & Leisure Resort" Maybe the larger picture is finally beginning to emerge?

 

[pogofish]

From the radio this morning:

Amendments are being made to the controversial plans for Donald Trump's golf resort in Aberdeenshire.

The application is being altered to take account of the environmental impact of wildlife habitats.

<snip>

The revised application - which would reduce the amount of stabilisation required to secure the sand dunes - has been submitted to the reporters who will be conducting the inquiry, ahead of a ministerial decision.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/7399943.stm

Interesting. Some of the things in the new submissions don't make sense as it is but would in light of revised proposals.

Also, this might suggest that Trump's "vision" is a little less inviolate than previously intimated?

 

[pogofish]

Things have been moving-on whilst I've been laid-up with a virus & otherwise busy.

Here is the link to the Trump plans & the RSPB's suggested alternative side by side:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/18_05_08_menieplans.pdf

Trump has rejected them, or even the idea of modifying his plan away from the SSSI on somewhat spurious reasons.

the layout would not constitute a links course and is certainly not a championship course."

http://news.scotsman.com/donaldtrump/Trump-rejects-alternative-plan-for.4095793.jp

Also, a rather bizzare "plea" from the course architect, Martin Hawtree:

http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/651901

I'd think the more obvious reason might be that the suggestion reduces the amount "future development" land adjacent to the housing scheme considerably.

Also interesting to see that he is out on his arse in his homelands & had this mess of a project rejected:

http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/633058

And throwing his toys out of the pram by threatening legal action on all & sundry.

 

[pogofish]

He has submitted detailed plans to the reporter:

http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/666267

No link for us mortals yet but I'll be looking out for one.

The important bit as ever is:

Figures in the revised design for Mr Trump’s championship course show a total of 101 acres of habitat would be lost directly through the building of the course, driving range, putting green and clubhouse, including 51 acres of the Foveran SSSI.

The report says it is “generally assumed that effects will result in direct habitat loss” but some areas of rough will be “maintained as playable dune habitat, potentially with good nature conservation interest”.

In addition, it says the design by leading golf course architect Martin Hawtree “achieves a modest reduction in habitat loss” – with about 2.5 acres less than the previous design – and “the reduction is slightly greater for key habitat types of major dune interest”.

So, whole 2.5 acres less destruction than the original.

Minor tinkering anyone?

 

[pogofish]

Just got a better look.

The plan only shows one of the courses & its relation to the SSSI/costal strip, clubhouse & driving range, whilst ignoring the bloody great hotel, three blocks of timeshare flats, the village of holiday "villas" & of course the housing.

Another thing is that Hawtree is claimng that the style of the whole course is maintained by duplicating features from the SSSI, further down the costal strip. Well, why can't he duplicate-off the whole lot elsewhere then?

So, not a lot there then.

 

[pogofish]

Next week -

Donald Trump: I'm on my way to Scotland



Donald Trump announced today that he will fly to Scotland next week to give evidence in support of his planned golf resort at a public hearing.

The billionaire will visit his mother's home in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis on Monday before appearing before the inquiry in Aberdeen the following day.

The Public Local Inquiry was ordered by Scottish ministers after Aberdeenshire Council rejected plans for the £1 billion development at Menie Estate.

http://news.scotsman.com/donaldtrump/Donald-Trump-I39m-on-my.4141456.jp

 

[pogofish]

Home loans down 20% in the last quarter - Aberdeen city & Shire may be at the better end of this slump but I doubt that will last much longer, so I hope Trump's lot are taking notice?

SCOTLAND has seen a 20 per cent slump in the number of new home loans, according to the first in-depth report from the Council of Mortgage Lenders on the housing market north of the Border.
The CML said there were 16,000 loans for house purchase agreed in the three months to April, down from 20,000 in the first quarter last year.

But the Scottish housing market is weathering the credit storm better than the rest of the UK, where home loans plummeted by 40 per cent over the same period.

http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/New-Scots-home-loans-fall.4147766.jp

 

[geminisnake]

Home loans down 20% in the last quarter - Aberdeen city & Shire may be at the better end of this slump but I doubt that will last much longer, so I hope Trump's lot are taking notice?

This is the only bit they'll notice

But the Scottish housing market is weathering the credit storm better than the rest of the UK, where home loans plummeted by 40 per cent over the same period.

 

[stat]

The latest Viz (front cover has a pic of Roger Mellie as Alan Sugar) has a three or four page strip which seems to be a thinly-veiled piss-take of the whole affair

 

[pogofish]

Thanks Stat. I'll be looking out for that tonight.

 

[stat]

Thanks Stat. I'll be looking out for that tonight.

i subscribe and got it a couple of days ago, it may be a few more days before it's in the shops. enjoy (not as good as last issue overall tho)

 

[pogofish]

Interesting - It seems that one of Trump's own paid consultants advised him that he was pushing his luck:

Dr Tom Dargie, a paid scientific consultant to Trump International Golf Links Scotland, told his employers the proposed golf course would pose "a very significant threat" to the unique system of sand dunes at the Menie Estate, near Balmedie. But Dargie's advice to move the links inland to avoid causing serious damage was ignored by the Trump organisation, which insisted it needed to develop the dunes in order to create a "world-class" golf resort.

<snip>

"I made my views on the development clear to the team and the applicant," he said. "I asked the applicant to move the course inland, away from the SSSI and other dunes. It was explained that earlier work had considered but rejected this. The applicant required the dune ground due to its outstanding potential for a golf course."

http://www.sundayherald.com/news/he...trumphired_expert_objected_to_golf_course.php

Roll-on Tuesday!

 

[pogofish]

He is in Stornoway:

http://news.scotsman.com/donaldtrump/Donald-Trump-Tycoon-arrives-in.4166063.jp

That photo is......

Anyway, I hope he is out at Menie soon because the way the temprature is falling & things are darkening, it looks like a nice NE Harr is blowing-in off the sea. For the second time in 3 days.

Which won't be at all encouraging for the golf.

 

[quimcunx]

I've just got an email from 10 downing street about this, saying it's nowt to do with them. Took long enough to decide. I don't even remember signing a petition.

 

[geminisnake]

He is in Stornoway

Aye, and how many years has it taken him??

He's just been spouting shite on the news too. If it wasn't for his mammy he'd go elsewhere, aye ok then.

 

[pogofish]

The only thing about the Downing St one was that it was less easy to hijack (by either side) than the EE poll.

It also didn't get pulled when it began to show a result that went against their editorial line.

So to thatend, it has served its purpose & shown a significant level of opposition.

 

[pogofish]

Yup, the opposition in other places is getting quite unpleasant - Esp when the latest economic "argument" fell to bits in the first paragraph by getting the basic law wrong!