Trump International Golf Club Scotland Ltd v Scottish Ministers

Trump International Golf Club Scotland Ltd sought to appeal a decision of the Court of Session in Scotland which had upheld the Scottish Ministers’ grant of consent to the construction and operation of an offshore windfarm by Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm Limited. The appellants’ main contention was that the Scottish Ministers had no power to grant consent as only a licence holder or an exempt person may apply for and be granted a construction consent under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. The appellants also argued that a condition in the consent requiring the submission and approval of a design statement was void for uncertainty. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal. The court found that there was nothing in the structure or language of the 1989 Act or in its policy background to suggest that Parliament intended to limit who could apply for a section 36 consent. Further, the court found that the condition requiring a design statement was not void for uncertainty. It was enforceable through other conditions in the consent which required the windfarm to be constructed in accordance with the approved construction method statement, which could include information on how the construction method complied with the design statement.