NC- You guys in the UK have such on advantage with the language, especially with the oratory, but also with such unusual words as "whinge" which sound so cool and witty until the lesser folk are left to consult the dictionary and learn that they're packed with invective ("whinge"- complain persistently and in a peevish or irritating way).
You asserted in your original comment "damage done to the immediate area" and opined "that the price paid in terms of the environment has not been worth it". I simply asked what the damage is so that the subjective evaluation of whether the project was/is/will be a success can be completed without prejudice.
You are right in part that protecting the environment should not be political. Unfortunately, it has become that way. I personally do not understand in human terms the "damage" done to what one report says is to about 11% of that SSSI by arresting its movement in that limited area (God only knows how much effort and resources are expended throughout the world to secure landscapes prone to erosion against the effects of water and wind).
You are right again that my bias is in favor of the folks who benefit from such a development, a good number which probably don't think much about the game we love and even less about the wave effect of sand which might just as easily be studied in many places throughout the world without affecting the ability of some people to put food on the table. And from I have seen in my limited travels in the UK, Balmedie and Coul Links included, there are plenty of places where the extremely very few can go to commune with nature.
As to my "whinge", I am just suggesting that we might be better off getting our dander up when our taxpayer money is regularly wasted (I can write several paragraphs contrasting public sector promises against actual results which each would make the Trump endeavor a rounding error). Take Trump out of the equation and perhaps the din would not be nearly as loud. In the worst case, the project goes under and it is either recapitalized or the land is returned to nature. If the latter, I am sure that the Scottish courts can adjudicate competing claims of damage and if Trump does indeed go broke as many of his haters wish, I suspect that the title of the land carries whatever environmental clouds arise and its value would probably cover the desired remediation.
The bottom line is that a private individual or group losing money is not a big concern to me. A public entity spending some of my money wastefully certainly should earn my attention and ire. And that is the end of my whinge (as I recall, David Moriarty, my one-time antagonist who I wish would return to the site, liked to use the word "screed" in similar spirit).