Work on £150m Trump Estate to ‘start next year’
● US president’s firm proposes 500 homes at resort in Aberdeenshire
The Trump Organisation is to spend £150 million on a major expansion at its loss-making Aberdeenshire golf resort.
The family business of US president Donald Trump intends to construct a new residential estate at its Trump International Golf Links property in Balmedie.
The development, which will be known as Trump Estate, will feature townhouses and mansions, with house prices ranging from £295,000 to “several million pounds”. It also includes 50 “hotel cottages”.
The Trump Organisation has promised to spend £150 million at its loss-making Aberdeenshire golf resort after unveiling plans to build 500 homes as part of a major expansion.
The family business of US president Donald Trump intends to construct a new residential estate at its Trump International Golf Links property in Balmedie.
The development, which will be known as Trump Estate, will feature townhouses and mansions, with house prices ranging from £295,000 to “several million pounds”. It also includes 50 “hotel cottages”.
The Trump Organisation said it had submitted the plans to Aberdeenshire Council.
The Trump Organisation said the latest work was part of a £750m phased investment and would create nearly 300 permanent jobs. The resort currently employs 93 staff.
Eric Trump said: “Initial interest to our plans have been incredible and, subject to detailed planning approval, we are aiming to break ground next year.”
A separate planning application for a second 18-hole golf course – which will be named after Mr Trump’s mother – has yet to be heard by councillors.
Mr Trump’s property company has already been granted outline approval to establish 500 houses, part of the second phase of development.
But conditions attached to that 2008 approval mean there are a number of restrictions in place. Mr Trump’s firm must complete at least one block of tourist accommodation before it can start construction on private properties.
Debra Storr, a planning consultant and former Aberdeenshire councillor who opposed Mr Trump’s first Scottish resort, said: “The outline planning permission is incredibly specific about phrasing, and that’s designed to make sure the benefits we redeliv- ered before all of the harm was done. They have to built an awful lot of the hotel-level accommodation before they can start on the residential properties.”
Ten years after Mr Trump’s development was approved, the company behind Trump Golf Links has yet to turn a profit. It is dependent on a £40.6m interest-free loan from Mr Trump, who originally vowed to spend as much as £1bn on the site. The company remains owned by Mr Trump through a New York-based revocable trust.