Trump homes decision at Menie delayed

The Trump Estate would feature a range of two, three, four and five-bedroom cottages.

A planning decision on the Trump Organisation's bid for hundreds of new homes in Aberdeenshire has been delayed, the council has said.

The Menie application was due to be considered by Aberdeenshire Council next week, with a final decision on the development expected in March.

The local authority said late information had been received, which was expected to delay the decision.

Trump International accused the council of "misrepresenting the facts".

The plans at the golf resort include the construction of more than 500 homes at Menie.

'Provided months ago'

A council spokeswoman said: "It was intended that full council would determine this application at its meeting in March, taking the views of local councillors into account, but following discussion with the applicant, a decision on the application is not now likely until later in the year."

However Sarah Malone, executive vice president of Trump International, said the council's statement was a "gross misrepresentation of the facts and handling of our application".

She added: "The reason the Formartine Area Committee hearing has been deferred until its next scheduled meeting is due to the council's inability to convene a design review panel meeting until the 22nd of January, more than four months after the validation of our application.

"In addition, the roads and transport department have only just requested new surveys and analysis which could and would have been provided months ago."

Branded The Trump Estate, the plans feature a range of two, three, four and five-bedroom cottages, priced from £295,000, to larger properties costing more than £1m.

In November, it emerged that a council memo described the plans as a "weak substitute" for the original proposals put forward 10 years ago.

The plans were now said to be "weighted very heavily" towards residential housing rather than tourism.

The Trump Organisation described the remarks in the memo as "naive at best".