Menie muck-up

In 2007 members of an Aberdeenshire planning committee were branded “traitors” by the local press when they rejected Donald Trump’s Menie proposals. Their chairman was publicly vilified and removed from his post.

The committee’s crime was to decide that the economic benefits of the Trump proposals did not appear to justify the environmental impact. Five years later they are seen to be correct: Mr Trump, who has admitted that his development is largely on hold due to economic conditions (“The world has crashed,” he said), has flown in to try and close down the Scottish wind energy industry, which is very much alive.

A few politicians must privately rue that the planning committee’s decision was overturned, but have any of them the courage to admit the committee was right, or offer an apology for the way it was treated?

Colin Anderson

Pitcullen Terrace

Perth

Lesley Riddoch (Perspective, 23 April) suggests that the “Trump sideshow should be ignored”.

I couldn’t agree more with her article and I am struggling to understand how he has any locus to present to the Scottish Parliament’s Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee.

He is not resident in Scotland. I presume, therefore, he does not pay council tax in Scotland. So why is he given the glory of being allowed to appear before this committee?

If I, as both a Scottish resident and council tax payer, wanted to support or oppose the proposed wind farm development, would I be given the same publicity and opportunity to appear before the committee?

I think not.

Eric Thomson

Gullane

East Lothian