28 March 2019

Formartine Area Committee considers Menie application

Councillors met in Ellon on Tuesday 26 March to discuss a planning application for a new development at the Menie estate. 

The proposed development by Trump International Golf Links Ltd is to build 550 homes (a mixture of residential units with a minimum of 50 leisure/resort units), alongside community facilities, shops, offices, food and drink, landscaping and supporting infrastructure. 

A site visit and pre-determination hearing was held back in December as part of the application process. Since then the planning service have been gathering relevant information to put before councillors on the Formartine Area Committee. 

Members of the area committee were asked for their views on the application and decided to put these forward to Full Council as a series of comments, highlighting there were a range of views, some in support, some neutral and some not in support of the application. 

Councillors raised a number of questions and concerns, relating to access roads and transport planning policy, the protection of trees and protected species, and access to local services as well as connectivity for residents. They also discussed the scope of the current phase in relation to the wider planning application, the Local Development Plan and the economic impact. 

The views of the committee will be put towards Full Council who are expecting to see this application at their meeting in April, at which a decision will be taken. 

Formartine Area Chair, Cllr Isobel Davidson said: “I think it’s important we summarise the range of views discussed for Full Council, noting a number of concerns and questions which we hope can be addressed more fully at a later date.”