Thumbs up to Trump golf course

London - The Scottish government approved on Monday controversial plans by US tycoon Donald Trump to build a huge luxury golf resort on the country's east coast.

Finance minister John Swinney said there was "a significant economic and social benefit" in approving the application for the $1.6bn complex north of Aberdeen.

Local planners last year rejected the plans, after concerns from environmentalists about its effect on protected sand dunes and wildlife, and opposition from a farmer who refuses to budge from his land at any price.

The Scottish government in Edinburgh, which has powers over planning policy, called in the proposal, setting up an inquiry amid a row about the pros and cons of the project.

Trump, a New Yorker whose mother was a Scot, has billed the resort complex "the world's best golf course" and argues that it could create at least 1 200 jobs.

- AFP