Supporting Sustainable Aberdeenshire - No to Trump

Menie Not Money

Landscape- It's all about buildings you'll see for miles

The dune and beach areas of the proposed development are designated as being of Landscape Significance by Aberdeenshire Council and the whole development site is within an area designated as Undeveloped Coast.

The size, scale and architecture of the proposed buildings is completely inappropriate, and is an indication of how insensitive to the Aberdeenshire coast the Trump organisation is. The hotel is eight stories tall, and looks like something designed for Disneyland or Hollywood, rising above the dunes like a wedding cake on a lawn. The hotel will be visible from as far away as Udny Green and Pitmedden.

In addition to it's impact on the landscape during the day, the light pollution will be tremendous. Currently, a visit to the area means that you can (weather permitting) enjoy a clear view of the stars with only a few house light glowing in the distance. The combined lights of the hotel, condominiums, housing, pathways, driving ranges will light up the area like a christmas tree.

The Trump Environmental Statement (Chapter 8) on landscape impacts admits that "the visual impacts have been assessed at predominantly negative, often significantly so", and that "the vertical scale of the proposed buildings is far greater than existing buildings and contrasts with the gentle topography and open panoramic views of the existing landscape".

Chapter 8 concludes, "the proposed resort will bring significant changes to the landscape of the coastline between Balmedie and Newburgh. The existing landscape character and nearby visual receptors will be significantly adversely affected. However, in the wider geographical and historical context, the proposals represent the possibility of creating a new world class resort with buildings of iconic appearance set in a high quality landscape surrounding."

Eh? In other words, the existing landscape will be replaced with a synthetic one with 'iconic architecture" consisting of an fake victorian eight storey hotel, two eight storey tower blocks of holiday flats, 36 villas and 500 residential houses, a staff accommodation block, interconnecting roads etc.

Scottish Natural Heritage have the following to say:

"The proposed development would result in a significant loss of distinctive landscape character and quality that is recognised in the designations of Undeveloped Coast and an Area of Landscape Significance. An iterative and master planning approach to consider the capacity of the landscape to accommodate different scales of development has not been carried out. SNH's advice is that the design development  process has been inadequate and that opportunities to reduce landscape and visual impacts have not been explored."

Their summary of their detailed comments on landscape is a  follows:

• The proposed development would result in a significant loss of distinctive landscape character and quality that is recognised in the designation of Undeveloped Coast and an Area of Landscape Significance

• The proposed development would have significant adverse impacts on the landscape character

• The adverse significant visual impacts of the development  extend outwith the immediate site to the wider study area between Balmedie and Newburgh

• Design opportunities, which reflect the landscape character, quality and visual amenity of the area, have not been adequately explored and a reduction of adverse landscape and visual impacts has not been addressed to an acceptable level

• The appropriateness of the landscape mitigation scheme required further consideration

Historic Garden Society: "From the scale of the current proposals in this open coastal landscape setting it is difficult to see how any minor revision of the design could significantly reduce the impact on the designed landscape of Menie House. By substantially reducing the extent of the residential development, the height and scale of the hotel, and pulling all built elements away from the designed landscape it is possible that an acceptable scheme for the setting of the house may be devised. However having studied the current proposals we can only lodge an outright objection to this application"