Trump’s Real Estate Company Gets Green Light for Scottish Homes

(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump’s real estate company won approval from a municipality in northeast Scotland to develop a site next to an existing golf resort the U.S. president owns.

Aberdeenshire Council voted 34 to 28 to approve the project, citing the economic benefits, a spokesperson confirmed. The Trump Organization submitted plans last year to spend 150 million pounds ($185 million) on the development, which includes 500 homes and 50 vacation cottages.

While there were almost 3,000 objections from the public and campaign groups, properties were already attracting interest from buyers before construction was green-lighted. A number were reserved and there were more expressions of interest, according to a filing on behalf of Trump International Golf Links Scotland in September last year.

When Trump’s real estate company submitted the proposal, it said the project would add to the 100 million-pound investment in the golf course and hotel at the site on the North Sea coast. The expansion, like the existing investment, would be paid for by the company, it said separately.

Trump’s investment in northeast Scotland has been fraught with controversy over the years. He clashed with environmentalists, local residents and the Scottish government while struggling to make any money from them.

Earlier this week, planners backed Trump’s proposal for a second golf course at the estate, the BBC reported.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rodney Jefferson in Edinburgh at r.jefferson@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alastair Reed at areed12@bloomberg.net

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.