Trumph Trump petition

[running wild]

Maybe like me you have been annoyed and dismayed at the way the Donald Trump Golf Course development is being allowed to take over a prime dune nature site near Aberdeen.
(Menie sands is close to Grampian's Balmedie Beach Park orienteering area although that is no way endangered by the development.)
The fight to stop Trump moves another stage very shortly when Aberdeen Council will vote on the compulsory purchase of a number of private houses in the area so that the project can go ahead.
A petition against the move addressed to Aberdeen council is available at
http://38degrees.org.uk/donaldtrump
(This is an updated link - and it still doesn't work - see the one below)
Maybe you would like to sign.

[Meat Market]

I would like to wholeheartedly support that last point with one large correction. The top north half of the Balmedie beach map (North of the visitor centre car park) will be used for the golf course. For those who have ran there the large 1.5km dune which many of us have run along will be completely obliterated to make way for three of the holes on the golf course.

If everything goes as planned everything from the immediate foreground of the photo down to the dune illuminated by the sun in the top left of the picture will be manicured golf course/holiday homes by this time next year.

I was out at Balmedie a month ago, it really is a unique landscape worth saving from development. It is also important to remember that compulsory purchase orders which this petition is disputing are only to be used for developments of national importance. How anyone can claim that lining Donald Trump's pockets to build houses on land of Special Scientific Interest is important for Scotland or the UK is beyond me. Essentially families living on the land for the last 50 years are being forced to sell up to Donald Trump for private profiteering.

http://www.trippinguptrump.com

[EddieH]

Unfortunately the URL link given above doesn't seem to go anywhere

[Spookster]

Unfortunately the URL link given above doesn't seem to go anywhere

this one does:
http://38degrees.org.uk/page/s/aberdeenshire

[EddieH]

Thanks Martin,

I hope that the very slow load time of this page means that it is being well supported - or is Trump up to devious tricks?

[geomorph]

Landscaping part of a dune field can have serious erosional or depositional effects on those left behind. Unfortunately included in the landscaping term are afforestations, and I'm sorry to say that some of our best-loved orienteering areas on afforested dunes are culprits.

Dunes are amongst the most fragile of our landscapes and ecologies and population pressure has led to many being cascaded into degradation or accelerated dune movement over previously untouched land.

As has been horrifically illustrated in Louisiana, removal of natural coastal landscape is not an acceptable land management policy. Indeed many coastal areas in the UK that had been 'gentrified' for farming are now scheduled to be returned to their natural state, eg the polders around the Wash.

I know things are different in Scotland, but I naively thought dunes and SSI's were protected. And I suppose the dunes are not covered by open access either....

Hope you can win over the politicians - again things may be different in Scotland, but here in England votes by planning committees of councils appear to be rather disheartening affairs, in which the local guy is just a minor player considered an irritating blip besmirching the grand plan.

[mharky]

Thanks for the geography lesson.

I don't want to see this thing built anymore than GRAMP. But when Trump is waving £300million at the local council you can see why he got permission.

Sand dune area will thrive long after the human species is extinct.

[EddieH]

Orienteering and environmental reasons aside, I am genuinely appaled that people can be forcibly ejected from their homes to create an up-market leisure complex. If you feel any of this do vote.

[graeme]

Here in INT-land we're way ahead of you. There is only one area which was suitable for a "regional" level event. Here it is now...

http://www.archerfieldgolfclub.com/

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/u ... 537601.ece

[mappingmum]

The Sunday Times reports today that LUSH are offerring to support the Tripping up Trump campaign by covering their campaign costs. Spokesman for TUT has welcomed the offer.

[The Malcy]

I don't want to see this thing built anymore than GRAMP. But when Trump is waving £300million at the local council you can see why he got permission.

I thought that the local council had rejected the proposal (by a very small majority) and this was overturned by the Scottish Executive "in the National interest" or some such reason.

[RS]

Think I heard this right on Radio 2 yesterday - Something to the effect that Donald Trump is holding fire on his new golf course to await the decision of whether a wind farm is going up on the Aberdeen coast. This may make him change his mind as 'his clients views will be spoilt'.

[andypat]

Not sure why their "views" would be any more spoilt than the rest of the population of Aberdeen, but as good a reason as any to go ahead with the offshore wind farm! Or at least give Aberdonians the choice.....

[mikey]

I'm sure that Don's mate, Alex will see that he's okay.

[plain lazy]

Yup, Mr Trump might just trip himself up with this one... althought Royal Aberdeen GC have just objected to the windfarm plans too.

http://goo.gl/44s3i

If he does back out, it might mean that we get to claw back some of the "Sahara Desert" area that is being earmarked for future development as a second golf course... fingers crossed Balmedie may live on as a decent sized area yet!