Trump criticises councillors for wind farm support

Turbines: Trump says the wind farm would be 'disastrous'.© STV

Billionaire businessman Donald Trump has criticised a councillor for not voting against an offshore wind farm which could be built near the site of his luxury golf resort.

The tycoon wrote to Aberdeenshire councillor Peter Argyle on Tuesday to tell him it was a decision he and others in the local authority would regret for the rest of their lives.

In the letter, he said the "monstrous wind turbines" would "destroy" the community.

Mr Trump has halted work on his resort at Balmedie until a decision is reached by the Scottish Government.

A planning application for European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) off Aberdeen Bay was submitted to Marine Scotland last summer. A decision is expected to be made later this year.

In January Aberdeenshire Council`s infrastructure services committee, chaired by Mr Argyle, held a consultation meeting to discuss the potential impact of the turbines which would be visible from locations along Aberdeenshire's eastern coast.

Mr Argyle explained that while the committee was asked for its views on the development, it was not asked to make a decision.

He said: "We were asked to raise any issues of the potential impact the turbines may have and that`s what we have done.

"Marine Scotland will make the final decision on this, and we were simply asked to contribute just like Sepa, Scottish National Heritage and other interested bodies so that all of the issues can be considered before a final decision is made.

"Mr Trump is clearly someone who expresses himself very freely and I have no problem with people saying what they think. In fact I find it quite refreshing.

"I can understand his position. In Aberdeenshire we have a lot of applications from wind farms at the moment and I`ve heard from a lot of people who are concerned about the way they might be affected."

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