A public inquiry into controversial plans by a US billionaire to build a luxury golf course on a wild Highland bay will launch next week.
Conservation groups have vowed to make their case against the Coul Links project bankrolled by tycoon Mike Keiser – who wants to rival Donald Trump’s golf empire. Campaigners warn the proposed site in Sutherland sits on one of Scotland’s last remaining undeveloped dune systems – considered internationally important for nature – and is home to rare birds and insects.
Developers want to construct the 18-hole championship course at Coul Links, near Embo, over sand dunes, grazing pasture, dune heath, scrub and woodland and say it will bring jobs and tourism. Scottish ministers decided to review the decision of Highland Council to approve the development with public hearings set for next week.
Eco groups including RSPB Scotland, Plantlife Scotland, Buglife, Ramblers Scotland, the Scottish Wildlife Trust and Butterfly Conservation oppose the bid, saying Coul Links is a “unique” and “precious” place for wildlife. The site is home to a globally endangered insect, the Fonseca’s Seed Fly, and sits within three legally protected nature sites.
Anne McCall, director of RSPB Scotland, said: “We are facing a nature and climate emergency, with wildlife being pushed to the brink. The protection of places like Coul Links will be crucial to Scotland’s efforts to halt and reverse declines in nature.
“This is not the right place for a golf course – and planning decisions need to reflect the government’s commitment to protecting nature for people in Scotland.”
Alistair Whyte, Head of Plantlife Scotland, commented: “Sites such as Coul Links are legally protected for a reason – because they are refuges for some of our most threatened wildlife. If Coul Links is turned into a golf course, none of Scotland’s protected sites will be safe.”
And Craig Macadam, Conservation Director of Buglife, added: “If approved these plans will threaten the unique assemblage of plants and animals that call Coul Links home. Fonseca’s Seed Fly is a unique Scottish species, and as the only place in the world where it occurs we have an international responsibility to protect it for future generations.
“Extinction is forever, there is no second chance. Scottish ministers must throw out these damaging plans.” The Scottish Government refused planning permission for a similar earlier proposal in 2020.
Developers Communities for Coul Limited (C4C) submitted a fresh bid to build the course and associated infrastructure in 2023 which has faced more than 700 objections. If approved, the project would be paid for by American golf tycoon Mike Keiser and investor Todd Warnock.
Keiser, a billionaire from Chicago, wants to rival US President-elect Trump – whose luxury golf empire includes courses in Ayrshire and Aberdeenshire. Keiser, who made his fortune by launching a greeting cards firm, previously hit out at Scotland’s “extremely restrictive” environmental rules.
The Trump International golf course at Menie, in the north-east, has previously been blamed for trashing a protected dunes system.
C4C insists the Coul Links scheme has the potential to revitalise nearby Highland towns like Dornoch suffering from depopulation, ageing communities and economic challenges. They say the golf course could create 400 jobs and bring £11million annually to the local economy.
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