New BBC podcast tells the inside story of Donald Trump’s controversial Aberdeenshire golf resort plan
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A BBC podcast series will shed new light on the story of Donald Trump’s contested plan to create a world-class golf resort in a coastal area of Aberdeenshire.
Presented by journalist Anthony Baxter, who has made a trilogy of films tracking the saga, the BBC Sounds series – Trumped – will feature new and archive interviews with many of the key players in the story.
The documentary maker, who has been investigating the story for 15 years, says he is still trying to make sense of "how what happened, happened."
He said: "It’s a tale of secret deals, vested interest, and political ambition – and it’s a story of people who find themselves in an unimaginable situation, but who stand up for what they believe in against remarkable odds."
Teeing Off – the first episode of the series co-produced by BBC Scotland News and the Big Light independent production company – will be available on BBC Sounds from this Friday, February 16.
It goes back to the start of the story when residents on the Menie Estate were first approached about the prospect of selling up to make way for a golf course.
When Donald Trump announced his plans, he said: "I’m going to build the greatest golf course anywhere in the world, there will be nothing like it. It is going to be done environmentally perfect."
Among the contributors to the series will be residents, politicians and journalists who have followed or been involved in the saga during its many twists and turns.
Donald Trump unveiled his Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire in 2012 after facing several objections.
By then, he had clashed with residents, environmentalists, wind farm manufacturers and the Scottish First Minister, having bought the land on the Menie Estate seven years previously.
Trump International is still planning to build hundreds of homes near the golf course as part of its long-term plans.
A trailer episode is available here. A new episode of the series will be available weekly on BBC Sounds.
