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Official's Trump call 'irregular' Trump plans call-in 'practical'
(about 3 hours later)
The boss of the council which rejected Donald Trump's golf resort plan said he later received an "irregular" call from the government's chief planner. The ministerial decision to call in Donald Trump's golf resort plan was the only way forward, the government's chief planner has said.
Aberdeenshire Council chief executive Alan Campbell told MSPs of his concern about the call, made on the day the proposals were called in by ministers. Jim Mackinnon also told MSPs that the costs of an appeal could have run to hundreds of thousands of pounds.
But the chief planner, Jim Mackinnon, strongly disagreed with the claim. Holyrood's local government committee is investigating the handling of the £1bn plans, which were turned down by Aberdeenshire Council.
Holyrood's local government committee is investigating the Scottish Government's handling of the plans. First Minister Alex Salmond again defended his role in the affair.
First Minister Alex Salmond, who was also questioned by the committee, again denied any wrong-doing in the affair, amid concerns about the integrity of the planning process. He also told the committee that the application, narrowly rejected by the council's Infrastructure Services Committee, had been in a "perilous" situation.
I was under no pressure, far less an instruction from any minister, to act in a specific way Jim MackinnonChief planning officer I applied my long experience and professional judgement to the handling of the case Jim MackinnonChief planning officer
Ministers decided to have the final say on the US tycoon's £1bn proposals for the Menie Estate after they were narrowly rejected by a council committee. "We might have had a position of a major development being turned down unintentionally by a council after the local committee was in favour, the infrastructure committee was against and, quite clearly, members of the council wanted to revisit the issue," the first minister said.
Mr Campbell told MSPs that in December 2007, hours before the government decided it would have the final say on the plans, he received a phone call from Mr Mackinnon to discuss the options. Mr Mackinnon said that after Mr Trump's plans for the Menie Estate were thrown out, calling in the application was "the only practical way forward".
When the council chief realised that two of Mr Trump's representatives - George Sorial and Neil Hobday - were with the chief planner, he said he was not prepared to have the discussion and asked them to leave before it continued. "It struck me it would be a very strange appeal by the Trump organisation, with the council formally refusing planning permission but supporting the development at the appeal," he said.
"I would regard it as irregular to have the conversation with them there because I wanted to explore things official to official," Mr Campbell told MSPs. An appeal, he also argued, might have seen the costs awarded to the Trump Organisation, adding: "The tax payer in Aberdeenshire would have picked up a very hefty bill."
The decision to call in the application was confirmed in subsequent phone calls to Mr Campbell. Mr Mackinnon also strongly rejected a claim from Aberdeenshire Council chief executive Alan Campbell that a call he received from the chief planner, hours before the call-in in December 2007, was "irregular".
Mr Salmond also answered questions from the committeeMr Salmond also answered questions from the committee
Mr Mackinnon, who insisted his actions were not irregular "in the slightest", also told the committee about a call that he had recieved from Mr Campbell. Mr Campbell told the committee that two of Mr Trump's representatives were with Mr Mackinnon and that he asked them to leave before the discussion continued.
"I've a very, very strong recollection that representatives of the Trump organisation were in his room when he phoned me," Mr Mackinnon added. "I would regard it as irregular to have the conversation with them there because I wanted to explore things official to official," Mr Campbell told MSPs.
The chief planner also told MSPs that people behind applications were encouraged to speak to officials to gain an understanding of the planning process. Mr Mackinnon, who insisted his actions were not irregular "in the slightest", also told the committee about a call that he had received from Mr Campbell, adding: "I've a very, very strong recollection that representatives of the Trump organisation were in his room when he phoned me."
"I was under no pressure, far less an instruction from any minister, to act in a specific way," said Mr Mackinnon. The chief planner went on to insist he was "under no pressure" from any minister to act in a specific way, adding: "I applied my long experience and professional judgement to the handling of the case."
"I applied my long experience and professional judgement to the handling of the case." Mr Salmond is excluded from the decision-making process because the plans are in his Gordon seat.
Scots Lib Dem leader Nicol Stephen has raised serious concerns about issues surrounding the Trump application. He said he had met with all sides on the issue in his role as a constituency MSP.
Finance Secretary John Swinney - who will now decide whether Mr Trump's plans get the go-ahead - told the committee there was never any question of the contact between the first minister and the chief planner breaching ministerial guidelines.Finance Secretary John Swinney - who will now decide whether Mr Trump's plans get the go-ahead - told the committee there was never any question of the contact between the first minister and the chief planner breaching ministerial guidelines.