December 27, 2012
Scotland

Trump’s threat to delay wind farm for a decade

27 December 2012 | www.heraldscotland.com

Property tycoon Donald Trump has threatened to delay a wind turbine development for a decade unless the Government’s marine development body accedes to his demand for a public inquiry into the scheme.

The US entrepreneur has been waging a campaign against the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC), a turbine testing facility proposed for an offshore site close to his new golf development in Aberdeen.

He has been calling for an inquiry into the scheme for a year, but Trump Organisation executive vice-president George Sorial confirmed that he had instructed UK lawyers Dundas & Wilson to formally ask Marine Scotland to begin proceedings.

Mr Trump wants the EOWDC to be put “on an equal footing” with his golf development, which was the subject of a five-week inquiry in 2008. If Marine Scotland refuses his request, Mr Trump has threatened a protracted round of legal battles which Mr Sorial said could last a decade.

But Mr Sorial declined to link the future development of the golf resort, which has planning approval for future houses and a hotel, with the outcome of the EOWDC bid.

Mr Sorial said: “The nature of the correspondence between Dundas & Wilson emphasises the national significance of our development, and calls on Marine Scotland to take this into consideration when looking into a public inquiry on the EOWDC.

“We were subject to a five-week public inquiry, and yet the EOWDC is significantly larger in scope and has the potential to change the nature of Aberdeen Bay.

“If Marine Scotland does not agree to our request for an inquiry, we will seek a judicial review of the decision which I understand could take at least a year.

“When you consider that one man with limited resources was able to hold up the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route for 10 years, and compare that with an organisation like ours with experience in legal matters, you will see that we have the resources to hold this up for a very long time.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/12/27/trumps-threat-to-delay-wind-farm-for-a-decade/