The Wightman Report
A damning independent report has been released exposing a trail of intimidatory behaviour and half-truths at the heart of Donald Trump’s development at Menie.
In a hard-hitting new investigative report, the Scottish land rights campaigner, Andy Wightman, exposes the true story behind the development of Donald Trumpʼs golf course at Menie in Aberdeenshire.
“Whatever one thinks about the merits of the planned golf course, there are serious questions to be asked about the actions of the Trump Organisation over the past few years, whether they have been straight with the public, and whether they are abiding by
the range of conditions contained in their planning consent.”
In a detailed analysis of events over the past 5 years, Wightman looks in detail at how the Trump organisation has operated. The report reveals how legal threats have been made to one resident, how Donald Trump himself ordered the construction of earthworks to “get rid”
of one of the houses and how the Trump Organisation tried to obtain consent for compulsory purchase orders. A detailed account is provided of the arrest of two journalists by Grampian Police, about allegations of land grabbing and about the media block on
critics of the project by Aberdeen Journals.
“I hope the report sheds some light on the contradictory accounts that have been given of some of the issues such as the building of earthworks around one of the houses (1) and whether or not the Trump Organisation ever asked for compulsory powers to be used” (2),
says Wightman, who concludes the report with this thought. Perhaps this vanity project will indeed end in tears on a rock of hubris and recrimination. If it does, at least the long suffering residents of the Menie Estate will be able to live in peace once more and those responsible for bringing about this saga can reflect on their role and consider whether this is in fact the kind of sustainable development we want in the new Scotland.
Donald Trumpʼs Ego Trip is available at www.andywightman.com/trump/index.htm
NOTES FOR EDITORS
Andy Wightman is a writer and researcher, a land rights activist and an adviser to a wide range of organisations on land matters.