THE shifting sands of history over the past year have transformed the political landscape in Scotland.
While this may be a neat metaphor for the SNP's rise to power and demise of Labour's hegemony, the sands set to blow into finance secretary John Swinney's in-tray this week are less metaphorical. They are on the Menie Estate in Aberdeenshire, where
the billionaire entrepreneur Donald Trump wishes to build a golf resort.
Mr Swinney will soon receive a report on whether the development should be allowed to proceed – and the conclusions will have a dramatic impact on planning policies.
The palaver was over what would happen to the area's ever-shifting sand dunes, home to a fragile ecosystem. Trump wants to stabilise them, so golfers playing his course do not have sand blown in their faces.
On one level, the question is whether lapwings come before an alleged £1 billion investment, but the real issues are: what should be seen as a development of national importance and what protection should environmentally sensitive areas have?
When Aberdeenshire Council's infrastructure services committee said No to Trump, there was a national debate and fury in the North-east. Then the Scottish Government made the unprecedented move to call in the decision after Trump decided not to appeal and threatened to seek an alternative development site in Northern Ireland.
The fuss forced Mr Swinney to put the matter to an inquiry, and he has promised a final decision within 28 days of receiving the recommendations.
While there is still uncertainty, I understand the recommendations are going to be bad news for nesting birds and good for rich golfers.
The irony is that, since the row erupted, a small matter of an economic crisis and a drop in property prices has made such luxuries far less attractive. So, after all the fuss, Menie's sand dunes may continue to shift.
The full article contains 325 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
