Irish planners on Wednesday rejected a proposal from The Trump Organization and its Trump International Golf Links and Hotel in Doonbeg, Ireland, to build a sea wall to protect its property against rising sea levels caused by climate change.
In its rejection, An Bord Pleanála planning board said the proposed 38,000-tonne rock barrier at Doughmore Bay could damage dunes that run along the County Clare golf course on Ireland's Atlantic coast. The rejection came three years after the Country Clare council approved a plan for two barriers -- a combined 890 meters in length.
“The board is not satisfied that the proposed development would not result in adverse effects on the physical structure, functionality and sediment supply of dune habitat within the Carrowmore Dunes special area of conservation,” the planning board said.
Trump Doonbeg employs 300 people, and many in the town were in favor of the barriers as they could not only protect the golf course but other farmland. However, environmental groups campaigned heavily against the barriers, citing the potential damage to the dunes and its plantlife and any other life native to them.
The decision, made more than a year after it was expected, now casts doubt on a planned $45 million expression, announced in 2018, that would include a new ballroom, real estate and leisure facilities.
Trump purchased the Doonbeg resort in 2014 and invested into a course and resort renovation. The decision raises doubts over whether the resort will go ahead with a planned €40m (£38m) expansion, including a new ballroom, leisure facilities and more holiday homes.
