WITH considerable dismay, I have followed the discussion about the suggested violation of yet another Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and area of outstanding natural beauty for the sake of yet another golf course.

Lots of interesting arguments have been put up by both sides, I must say, but so far nobody seems to have questioned the figures that the supporters of this development want us to believe. According to them it will “attract up to 20,000 additional visitors to the area each year”. I find that hard to believe since there is already what is said to be a world-class golf course only a couple of miles up the road, not to mention yet another a short drive up the coast in Brora.

So how come this new course will be able attract so many new visitors? Of course, the devil is in the detail. The suggested visitor numbers are of course “up to”, which therefore means nothing.

But let’s humour the developers and say this figure is achieved, that equates to just over 55 visitors a day. How on Earth would those visitors sustain the suggested 120 new jobs that have been quoted? That is absurd, even if this golf course came with a 100-bedroom hotel (does it?) it would not need that many staff.

Have people forgotten that Trump’s Menie Estate course came with the same promises, but has not produced anywhere near the amount of new jobs and investment? How is the development at Coul Links going to be different? If anything, the Menie Estate had much more potential since it is not far from Aberdeen, so plenty of potential visitors there.

Furthermore, by design, the nature of the promised jobs will be mostly low paid and seasonal, and there already far too many of those in the area. What we really needs is more high-value, full-time jobs, such as those you find in the digital and high-tech engineering industries, and there is absolutely no reason why much more effort can’t be put into developing those instead.

Such development does not require the destruction of acres of natural habitat and it is far better for the environment, too. I am referring here to the large amounts of fertilisers and chemicals that will be needed to maintain the golf course.

And then there is the “£6.7 million extra” or so expected to go into the local economy. This equates to about £335 spent by each visitor each day. Seriously? But again, say for argument that these visitors do cough up this money – what I would like to know how much of that goes into the pockets of the developers and their shareholders. And has anyone actually looked at the inevitable cost to the community in lost earnings because people like me will simply go elsewhere to enjoy nature instead?

All in all, I think we can expect the net benefit to the area to be a six-figure sum at best. Is that enough to justify the permanent and irreversible destruction of an SSSI and a large area of outstanding natural habitat? I think not.

I am really looking forward to finally seeing some convincing arguments supported by proper evidence instead of wild assumptions that this large-scale and potentially destructive development at Coul Links is actually going to benefit the area. Until then, I remain firmly opposed.
Maarten de Vries
Knockbain, Munlochy

I AM not a monarchist in any way but I have a lot of respect for William and Harry as I think they are two fine young men who never had a choice in the path life laid out for them. As for Harry’s wedding to Meghan, the thing that concerned me greatly is who is going to pay for the wedding that will cost untold millions of pounds?

Yes, you have guessed it, it will be us the taxpayer! And at a time when the NHS is on its knees in England and Wales with elderly patients suffering sent home daily to die due to shortage of beds and doctors.

Meanwhile, child poverty is spiralling out of control and homelessness at an all-time high.

But most of all at a time when the terrorist threat is at its highest level, our police forces are being reduced due to shortage of money.

It’s staggering that all that is sadly causing suffering and concern in our country cannot be addressed due to lack of money, yet it can be found to pay for a royal wedding, which should be paid for by the families concerned.
Diane Buick
Lanarkshire