Trump loses legal challenge to Aberdeenshire offshore wind farm

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s legal challenge to a planned offshore wind farm has been rejected by the UK’s Supreme Court.

Developers intend to site the large turbine structures close to Mr Trump’s luxury golfing development at the Menie Estate on the Aberdeenshire coast but the US businessman claims the wind farm would spoil the view from his golf links.

Mr Trump began his long-running challenge to the Scottish Government decision to grant planning permission more than two years ago. The American raised a court action in the Court of Session against ministers in January this year but judges upheld the decision and refused the appeal.

A previous application for judicial review failed when Lord Doherty ruled in 2014 that the government had not acted illegally.

He then brought the case to the Supreme Court, asking judges to determine whether a condition attached to the government’s decision was enforceable.

Judges have today unanimously rejected his legal challenge.

The European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) project is a joint venture by Vattenfall Wind Power and Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group.

They claim it would be capable of powering up to 68,000 homes a year.

The Trump Organization said decision was an “extremely unfortunate verdict” for Scotland.

George A. Sorial, executive vice president & counsel for The Trump Organization, added: “The EOWDC will completely destroy the bucolic Aberdeen Bay and cast a terrible shadow upon the future of tourism for the area.

“History will judge those involved unfavourably and the outcome demonstrates the foolish, small minded and parochial mentality which dominates the current Scottish Government’s dangerous experiment with wind energy. While the EOWDC’s “leadership” have stated the project will proceed, the onerous planning conditions remain unpurified and it is common knowledge that there is no funding for a technology that is now many years obsolete.

“With oil prices plummeting and the lack of money for vital projects like the AWPR, the EOWDC will never be built and comments that suggest otherwise are nothing more than delusional posturing. We will evaluate the Court’s decision and continue to fight this proposal on every possible front.”