News Release
Ramblers Association Scotland have launched an appeal (1) amongst their members for funding to support potential legal costs arising from Donald Trump’s proposed golf course/housing developments and to help meet the costs of the Ann Gloag court action on the right to roam legislation. The appeal is open to the general public with donations being sought to the Ramblers Scottish Legal Defence Fund.
Ramblers Scotland Convener, Alison Mitchell, said:
“We face the possibility of significant legal costs in challenging Donald Trump’s proposed development, either through participation in a public inquiry or through a challenge in the courts. We need to be prepared for all options in dealing with this increasingly complex planning issue. Further legal advice and possible legal representation are likely to be essential in the next stages.”
Alison Mitchell added:
“We are not trying to stop this development. All we ask is for Donald Trump to have due regard to the environmental requirements associated with his plans. His continuing refusal to compromise is astonishing. If the plans were approved it would be a clear signal to every developer that Scotland’s environmental laws can be brushed aside with big money and big talk”.
Earlier this week the Ramblers submitted a Freedom of Information request to the Scottish Government (2) to establish what exchanges took place between Donald Trump and his associates and the then First Minister, Jack McConnell and his civil servants, when this project was first proposed.
Alison Mitchell said:
“While we welcome the decision of the Local Government Committee of the Scottish Parliament to examine recent events in relation to Mr Trump’s application, we are also focussed on the earlier exchanges between Mr Trump and the Government. We are keen to establish whether Mr Trump’s refusal to compromise is connected to anything said to him during the period when Mr McConnell was First Minister.”
The Ramblers appeal to their members also includes a request to support the costs of legal action in defence of the right to roam legislation, including the Ramblers’ share of the expenses arising from the court action taken by Mrs Ann Gloag at Kinfauns Castle (3), near Perth. Final costs, to be met by the Ramblers and Perth and Kinross Council, have not yet been determined by the court but Mrs Gloag is seeking expenses of £161,000, including about £130,000 for the employment of senior and junior counsel to present her case.
Alison Mitchell summarised the situation:
“Mrs Gloag was perfectly entitled to seek a court determination of the extent of access rights at Kinfauns. Nevertheless I doubt if anyone with any knowledge of the land reform legislation would have anticipated that the Council and Ramblers would be faced with this scale of costs having lost the case, especially as we were acting in the public interest in presenting the counterarguments to Mrs Gloag’s case. As we move on from the Kinfauns situation we hope that politicians can be persuaded to address the cost issue, perhaps through new legislation which makes each party solely responsible for its own costs in such cases. Otherwise court action to resolve access disputes will only be available to the rich.”
ENDS
More information:
(1) The Appeal is being distributed next week to RA Scotland’s members with the winter newsletter.
(2) Freedom of Information News Release
(3) Background information on Kinfauns
