Niall,
First of all, if you believe that Mike Keiser, Ben Crenshaw, and Bill Coore would be "trashing an environmentally sensitive site", then either you don't know the extensive, well-earned reputation of these men or you have a poor opinion of golf's place in the environment.
Unlike you, I put no more faith in folks who are paid by the government or environmental NGOs to objectively analyze a situation than I do in those engaged by industry. 45+ years working in the private and public sectors have taught me that the work product and recommendations most often tend to support the desires of those who pay their salaries and fees. Governments want to govern, industry wants to produce, environmentalists for the most part have a bias against development, growth, and capitalism. So, IMO, there is at least as much politics in the various environmental regulations as there is "science".
As to P & Z in the U.S., I and nearly all of the many real estate professionals I've known acknowledge the need for reasonable, consistent policies. We don't want a lead battery plant next to a residential community or a topless bar adjoining a school, but no one I know wants such rigid regulations which would render private property essentially unusable. Clear, flexible, well-informed comprehensive land plans are seen a necessity, with emphasis on flexible, reasoned and timely resolution of requested exceptions.
Typically, P&Z issues are governed locally, though some states like CA and NY tend to weigh in heavily. The federal government through environmental laws and agency regulations as well as social engineering schemes also plays a heavy hand.
As an industrial properties developer and former green chair at a famous SoCal club once explained to me, if I came to his backyard and attempted to develop a property, say an office/warehouse, it would take me three years and several $100k to $1 Million+ to get my permits, and that is if I did everything right. He could get the project going in less than a year for 25%-50% of my startup costs because he "worked" with the same P&Z staff, city councils, and all their preferred vendors (brokers, engineers, architects, appraisers, environmental and traffic consultants, public relations professionals). In other words, I would have zero chance of succeeding. A racket? You bet it is, with a lot of money flowing a bunch of different ways.
Yet, this guy, as he told me, can come down to Houston- a city notorious for very little zoning requirements- and get a project going in under a year. I would not have a competitive advantage over him in my own backyard.
Now, as you probably know, property values are much higher in SoCal than in Houston or Dallas. That office/warehouse will lease for 2-3x more there than here. They can get away with this because supply is also restricted (much like in the UK) and regulation forces land prices high. Of course, average people are leaving CA in droves and Dallas and Houston, actually much of TX, is experiencing tremendous population and job growth.
Do all U.S. developers run shod of government regulations? Of course not. While I don't think that Trump is representative of most developers, as long as money is available, developers develop. He has acknowledged contributing huge sums to the big NYC Democrat machine, making deals with the unions (some mob influenced if not controlled), and being in bed with some unsavory characters. The gentleman I played golf with paid high fees to preferred vendors and I am sure he donated to the campaigns of various politicos who ultimately decided the fate of his deals. Any number of highways and streets in TX are named after real estate investors who also spent some time in city hall. I suspect that it is not that much different in your part of the world.
I really don't have much of anything riding on the CL project. As I get older, my desire to spend more time in two or three places as opposed to seeing a bunch of new courses grows stronger. I just don't see any downside to the project. But I am a very firm believer that a well-planned, designed, and maintained golf course can greatly improve the environment for all but a very small group who are very difficult to please. Ironically, having travelled to various parks in Africa, India, the Americas, it never ceases to amaze me how much wildlife one sees from the road. Guides and game managers tell me that animals are smart. They too like prepared surfaces to move around. Go figure.