Opposition to plans for wind turbines to be built off the coast of Donald Trump’s new golf course in Aberdeenshire has been dropped.

The US billionaire is publicly opposed to windfarms and has been particularly outspoken regarding plans for an 11 turbine offshore farm near his golf course development at Menie.

The £230m eco-project is a joint venture by utility company Vattenfall, engineering firm Technip and Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group (Areg).

The Ministry of Defence (MoD), National Air Traffic Services (Nats), Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and RSPB Scotland had all put forward objections to the renewable energy scheme, but have since agreed conditions.

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European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) spokesman Iain Todd said: "The removal of a number of objections is another significant step forward for the scheme.

"The EOWDC partners hope for a green light on its consent application from the Scottish government later this year."

Mr Trump has opposed the plans from the offset, claiming the turbines would spoil the sea views for golfers on the course.

Last month, the American businessman ran a series of newspaper adverts which showed broken, rusting turbines under the headline "Welcome To Scotland."

The advert also warned "Alex Salmond wants to build 8,750 of these monstrosities."

Complaints regarding the inaccuracy of the adverts were upheld and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said they should not be used again in that form.

This latest revelation is a further blow to Mr Trump’s plans to reject the building of wind turbines.

He said in a statement: "This is a terrible development for Scotland and the entire tourism industry.

"We will litigate this destructive project for as long as necessary."

(IT/GK)