David Milne has been a long-standing opponent of the Trump resort and was one of four homeowners threatened with compulsory purchase for two years when the US billionaire’s plans for the £750m golf course were approved.
The controversy and debate prior to the construction of the course has been reignited following the airing of BBC 2 documentary You’ve Been Trumped made by Montrose-based film maker Anthony Baxter.
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Now, Mr Milne says he is planning to submit a petition to the Scottish Parliament calling for a fresh review into the Scottish government and local council’s dealings with the Trump Organisation.
He said: "The response to You’ve Been Trumped this week has been truly extraordinary. We are so grateful for the enormous number of messages of support we have received, including many from people who had previously backed the project.
"Attitudes have shifted fast, and everyone can now see how Mr Trump has behaved here. Heavy-handed billionaires are not the most serious problem though and, in any case, it’s hard to legislate against them."
"Our homes are safe now, too, even if the environment we live in has been devastated. The root of the problems we faced is deeper."
He added: "It’s time for the truth to be established. No other community in Scotland should ever have to put up with the kind of treatment local people here have gone through over the past seven years."
Such an inquiry would date back to 2005 and would cover then first minister Jack McConnell’s Executive, Alex Salmond’s SNP and Aberdeenshire Council, which was controlled at the time by Lib Dems.
(IT)
