What Rhymes with UNESCOcrats?

With one hand he giveth Glasgow, UNESCO city of music status, and with the other he threatens to taketh away Edinburgh's world heritage status. The He is Koichiro Matsuura, the director-general of the UN cultural body and it seems he did notice he was in Edinburgh and he was given a walking tour of Edinburgh's Old and New towns, a Fringe performance by the Scottish Dance Theatre, a civic reception at Edinburgh City Council and a reception at Napier University for the launch of "Intangible Cultural Heritage in Scotland.

Now presumably this cost Edinburgh a few bob to organize and it looks like it may have backfired. Apparently Mr UNESCO believes no more decisions should be taken on key projects like Caltongate and Haymarket until the results of a year-long probe are published. A team of their inspectors will visit the capital in November after UNESCO’s world heritage committee ordered an investigation into Edinburgh's World Heritage Site. Their report is due to be published in the spring and will recommend whether Edinburgh is placed on UNESCO’s official "at risk" list of endangered sites. At risk from what? The modern world? Clearly we should be mindful and careful about developing buildings in a beautiful city like Edinburgh, but now it seems UNESCO is potentially calling the UK planning process into disrepute.

Then again does Edinburgh's status really matter? Do people choose to visit based on such an accolade? In fact how many people even now about the world heritage status? Regarding the Haymarket development Historic Scotland, the agency charged with safeguarding the nation's historic environment, had no objections. Their chief executive, said: "We don't feel we have a part to play in this process any more." But UNESCO clearly do.

Lincoln in his Gettysburg address famously said, "That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." It seems that UNESCO think otherwise. God spare us from meddling UNESCOcrats, Eurocrats and other crats who milk the gravy train. The UK contributes many millions to funding UNESCO and somehow it all seems a little wasteful if they're sending people to Edinburgh to check on World Heritage Status. Next they’ll be wanting to take away Edinburgh's UNESCO city of literature status...what do you mean you didn't know? Given UNESCO’s remit perhaps there are some more worthwhile projects in parts of the world that would benefit far more from their attention.

In Someone's Back Yard, Just as Long as it's Not Mine?

The arguments over Trump’s development continue and today there’s news that the British and Scottish Chambers of Commerce, the Confederation of British Industry, the Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI), the Federation of Small Businesses and the Institute of Directors (IoD) have all said they back the plans for the development. Of course that doesn’t make the idea right, but it’s a powerful endorsement.

Big business is frequently at odds with what is best in the environment; profit and our natural heritage don’t often sit comfortably together. The protesters against Trump’s plans claim it’s a smokescreen to hide a housing development that would hand the Trump a vast profit. According to the assistant director of the CBI, said: "We have consistently argued that Scotland's planning system ought to give far greater weight to the economic benefits of development." Now I’m sure he believes what he says but I wonder how he might feel if some major construction or industrial development was going to be put close to his home.

The SCDI manager Ian Armstrong said: "The proposed development at Menie Estate by the Trump organisation can be a significant economic driver." Now this economic driver argument is the one that is always used by business and of course our economy depends on growth but it also depends on how well you think the Trump Town development might play. I believe that the US style model that he’s proposing may well falter here in Scotland. Of course that’s just my opinion, but then again that’s what most of this is about - opinion.

In Scotland on Sunday they’ve done a typical ‘both sides of the fence ‘ argument saying.

“This newspaper understands the concerns of those who believe the Menie sands should be left undisturbed, and we share some suspicions that the golf course could be a Trojan horse for property development that could follow. However, having listened to both sides of the argument, we believe that Scotland should welcome the financial injection the development will bring. Politics must be taken out of this project. Planners must take cognisance of the economic benefits and arrive at the sensible conclusion – that it is right to create a magnificent golf course, which feeds the economy and is sensitive to the environment."

So while they understand both sides of the argument they come down on the side of Trump. Fair enough, but there’s one statement amidst all their fence sitting, which resonates.

‘Politics must be taken out of this project. Planners must take cognisance of the economic benefits and arrive at the sensible conclusion.’

What utter tosh. If this were the case no politicians would look at any planning application, this is just not MSPs or MPs, it’s local councilors too, and things would just be left to local government managers. There’s long been suspicion throughout the country that sometimes these people are ‘got at’ and it may well happen. But whatever the case, to take out the checks and balances of politicians at every level would be a major blow to the democratic process. I can think of a few wind farms and housing developments that would have gone ahead on the planners say so that would have been a disaster. I wonder how the business leaders would like houses or factories or whatever built right next to their second or even first homes just because a planning official gave it the nod?

The Continuing Saga of Trumptown

According to The Donald. "I hardly know Alex Salmond, but what I know is that he's an amazing man. Alex Salmond and I have virtually never even talked about this job but I know for a fact that he - and anyone else who's representing Scotland, unless they're the enemy - wants billions of pounds to come into Aberdeenshire and Scotland."

He went on to say he had "great respect" for Mr Salmond and that they only talked about Scotland when they met last year."

Well for a start as far as I know the new development is still in Aberdeenshire and therefore the Trumptown developer is certainly telling no lie. Perhaps he thinks that once he buys the land then it will somehow become part of his empire? I continue to think that the real issue here is will it all work. I'm still perplexed whose going to buy these houses and flock to this course. It still seems to be a an argument about the wrong issues. But then again it's his money (or at least money his investors will put up) and so why should we worry?

The Donald and the Saga of Trumptown

Donald J Trump - reality TV star, real estate developer, entertainment mogul, casino owner, the hairdresser’s friend, and son of a Scottish woman from the Isle of Lewis. He’s also a man who, as almost everyone in Scotland knows, is planning to build the best golf course in the world right here in Scotland. Move over St Andrews; move over Loch Lomond, and all you other jumped up Scottish, so called, golf courses, ‘the Donald’, as his former wife used to call him, is, much like Santa Claus, coming to town. A man who is not so much eye-candy and candy floss hair.

Trump is a brand, why even the BBC news is referring to ‘his people’ as Team Trump. Have you ever heard anything so daft? Every time his name is mentioned it’s preceded by the word – billionaire, in order to make us all believe that here is a man who can do no wrong. Of course that’s not quite true. Back in the early 1990s he almost went to the wall when his Atlantic City casino, it too cost a billion (do all his developments cost a billion?) and was built with money from high-interest junk bonds ran into trouble. Such was the level of debt servicing that was required that it ate through most of his companies cash and almost finished him. Trump had to file for bankruptcy protection.

Since then it’s true that his building projects, many of which are called ‘The Trump International Hotel and Tower’, followed by the name of the place where they’ve been built, seem to be successful. However, that too is not entirely true. Several in the USA are struggling and may not make money. On another there are a number of lawsuits pending. Now of course these are the everyday occurrences in the world of mega business where it’s not all about profit, there’s always a cost line and no such thing as a certainty.

The trouble here in Scotland is the way most everyone is behaving; from, Alex (no I met him in my capacity as a constituency MSP) Salmond to ordinary folk the BBC doorstep for a comment. You’d think that Trump only has to say he’s going to build something and it will just be a runaway success. How many of them know that it’s not all the Donald’s money that finances these projects, it’s done with borrowings and investors. Trump is a risk taker – yes, but he’s also a salesman first and foremost.

Trump has a number of golf resorts around the USA and at least one in the Caribbean. One of his US developments in Westchester County, New York took four years to get under way due to local opposition; another one didn’t even get off the ground. The fact is the Aberdeenshire development is a big departure for the Trumpies. It’s a long way from home and the rules of engagement are different here. So far he’s managed to wow just about everyone. Not though Mr Ford, who was the councillor whose casting vote carried the planning group’s objection to the project. Ford has now been voted off that committee by 26 votes to 10, although it should be pointed out that 29 councillors didn’t vote. It makes you wonder what they really think? How are they feeling today?

The plan to build all these houses and the huge hotel and the two best golf courses in the world may look great on paper but there’s a big question mark against it working in Scotland. The whole mentality of the market here in Britain is different from the USA. And just who is going to buy those 500 homes? And are any of the houses going to be ‘affordable homes’ in his gated community?

Donald Trump may be able to walk on the water, but does he blow-dry his own hair? We may well know the answer to the first question in due course, the second probably never. But whatever way you look at the Trumptown saga, whichever side of the argument you’re on, there’s little doubt that it damages the credibility of the local planning mechanism. Add to this the fact that the whole sorry mess is one built on ego and greed. John Swinney is going to have to think long and hard about all this, at least you’d like to think he will, because he’s not only the Minister for Finance he’s also Minister for Sustainable Growth.

I wonder if, once the housing development is finished and the golf course too, locals and tourists will be able to wander freely across the area. The right to roam is something that cowboys understand; let’s hope the Donald does too.

Trumparama

Aberdeen City Council is to allow the public another chance to vote on the design of a statue to commemorate Robert the Bruce following claims that the previous round of voting was "flawed". Meanwhile Aberdeenshire Council has rejected Trumparama by 8 votes to 7. What's interesting in all this is the fact that there are 40 councillors. Now it seems to me that something so significant should be decided upon by the whole council.

Meanwhile the Scotsman is running the headline 'Rejecting Trump's golf resort 'would deter global investment in Scotland' after a number of MSPs have branded the council as loony (or words to that effect). I have no doubt that it will be a blip on the graph of inward investment if it is rejected, but there seems little chance that it will be. More to the point is will it be a success. methinks Trump is bringing a US style golf resort and hosing complex to the UK and I'm not so sure the model will prove effective. Still it is his money....