Aberdeenshire Council has granted full planning permission for the construction the Trump International Golf Links course in Scotland. With full planning approval, construction work commenced on Thursday, 1 July.

Donald Trump said: “My team will finally get to work and build the world’s greatest golf course for Scotland and for the great game of golf. We are building on the finest piece of land I have ever seen and we will turn it into a national jewel – people will travel from around the world to play the course and experience its beauty.”

Contractor SOL will initially build construction access routes and compounds, and other associated infrastructure requirements, before starting the detailed shaping of the golf course.

The Trump organisation said that future detailed applications would include the maintenance facility and clubhouse, which are being prepared for submission later this year. Over £40 million has been invested in the project so far, the organisation said.

GCA recently visited the site with SOL’s Michael O’Leary and Esie O’Mahoney and links superintendent Paul O’Connor, formerly of Carnoustie.

SOL has already undertaken preliminary work on stabilising the dunes – a combination of fencing and marram sprig planting. The aim is to have the course ready for play in the summer of 2012.

The Hawtree-designed course will have two returning loops of nine occupying the Trump-christened ‘Great Dunes of Scotland’. A second course is also planned, but the developers are fully focused on the first eighteen for the time being.

The development has been disrupted by local farmer Michael Forbes’ refusal to sell his 23-acre plot, which sits within the 1,400 acres owned by Trump. Forbes’ land is located on a flatter area further inland from the dunes upon which the planned golf course will sit, and therefore his refusal to sell doesn’t stop course work going ahead.