David,
The Embo developers might not have Trumps profile, even from before he became POTUS, but they have endeavoured to shout as loud as they can and they are using the same methods.
As for acknowledging the public engagement in the form of the public meetings, I’m very happy to do that, but you should be aware that they are obliged to do that as part of engaging with the community in terms of the planning process. Mind you, the roadshow they did at Bandon probably stretches the community definition a bit
.
And with regards to the respective dynamics at Balmedie and Embo I don’t think they are that much different, and that was the point Finnie was largely making in his article that drew a lot of fire from the Embo developers and their supporters.
What Finnie was basically saying was that there is a clear presumption against development due to the sites planning status and therefore the Scottish government shouldn’t be engaging with the developer the way they have. What they should have done was politely referred them to Highland Council as the appropriate planning authority (that’s my opinion). That’s what they should have done with Trump and what they should have done with the Embo developers. That’s just good governance IMO.
It will be interesting to see what the Scottish Government does, should the application be refused. Will they call in the application in the same fashion as they did at Balmedie or will they let it go ? Likewise will they call it in if it is approved. Following their actions at Balmedie and with Judy Murrays development near Dunblane, I’d be surprised if they did anything to block this application.
Niall