Donald Trump's land ownership dispute gets personal

Published on Friday 8 October 2010 18:38

DONALD Trump yesterday reignited the furore over the threat of compulsory purchase hanging over residents of the Menie estate by claiming that he owned "a chunk of land" on one of the four properties at the centre of the controversy.

Four families living on the Menie estate claim that their homes could be seized through compulsory purchase orders to pave the way for the American tycoon's 750?million golf, housing and leisure development. And they have steadfastly refused to sell their homes to his Trump Organisation.

Speaking after the ceremony where he was awarded an honorary degree by Robert Gordon University, Mr Trump conceded he was no closer to an agreement with the four families for the purchase of their homes.

But he continued: "We actually just learned that one of them may have built their house on our land - we learned that last night when we were doing a survey.

"One of the people actually has a big chunk of their house on our land.

"So we're having that checked out now."

Last night David Milne, one of the Menie estate residents who are refusing to sell their homes, revealed that his home at Hermit Point, overlooking the main championship course, was at the centre of the new dispute. However, he also accused Mr Trump of "mind games".

Mr Milne said: "They claim the bottom 15 to 20ft of my driveway is theirs.

"I had number of bright blue 3ft poles driven into the ground at the bottom of my garden and all round the boundary of my property."