Trump 'is plotting 21st-century Clearance'

Published on Wednesday 12 August 2009 22:07

ONE of the five home-owners facing possible eviction to pave the way for Donald Trump's £1 billion golf resort yesterday accused the tycoon of planning to "steal" his land in a modern-day version of the Highland Clearances.

David Milne, who is refusing to sell his cottage home overlooking the area where the main championship course would be built, has written to all 68 members of Aberdeenshire Council in advance of a critical debate on the possible use of compulsory purchase orders at the Menie estate development, where the American tycoon is planning to build the "world's greatest golf course".

Mr Milne and four other home-owners, whose properties cover about 100 acres next to the Menie estate, are refusing to sell their homes to the Trump Organisation, claiming that the prices they are being offered are derisory.

And the Trump Organisation has warned it may be left with no choice but to ask Aberdeenshire Council to use compulsory purchase order (CPO) powers to secure the properties, which it claims are vital to the overall Menie development.

Councillor Martin Ford, a leading opponent of the Menie scheme, has tabled a motion, due to be debated at a council meeting on 1 October, opposing the use of CPO powers at the Menie estate.

Mr Milne, who lives with his wife Moira at Hermit Cottage, a former Coastguard station he has owned for 17 years, is calling on the members of the local authority to back Mr Ford's motion.

He states in his letter: "One request to each and every councillor is to ask that you all actually use your vote.

"An abstention is effectively a vote to steal my home and the homes of others from us in a modern-day version of the Highland Clearances.

"The compulsory purchase of several homes would be devastating to those involved, including myself and my wife, and the responsibility for the emotional turmoil would lie with those that vote in support of the use of compulsory purchase orders."

Mr Milne told The Scotsman he had only received one "laughable" formal offer from the Trump Organisation for his home, of 175,000.

Sarah Malone, the executive vice-president for the Menie estate development, said: "We do not take the question of CPO lightly.

The Trump Organisation is sensitive to the personal impact on Mr Milne and understands his perspective."