Washington D.C. – 7 December 2016
US President-elect Donald Trump has withdrawn an application to build a sea wall aimed at protecting his golf resort in Ireland, the latest twist in a project that had stoked tensions in a tiny village on the Atlantic coast.
Trump’s company shelved plans to construct defenses about 1.7 miles long at his golf resort close to the village of Doonbeg in County Clare, it said in a statement. The plan was submitted on behalf of Trump in May.
The planned sea barrier may now be replaced with a scaled-down version, which will extend to about 600 meters at the south of the beach and 250 meters at the north of the beach, Trump International Golf Links and Hotel, Doonbeg, said.
The new barrier “is not a wall, ” Michael O’Sullivan, responsible for coastal protection at the Doonbeg resort, said in an interview with Bloomberg. “Our concern was that the full protection scheme would have taken too long to push through the planning process.”
Trump Hotels bought the 400-acre property in 2014 after a US hedge fund placed it into receivership. The resort is among the biggest employers in the area, and a number of local people and interest groups backed the wall.