 BILLIONAIRE Donald Trump could bid to build a golf resort on the Merseyside coast. Wirral council wants to bring a new development to Hoylake after the success of the 2006 British Open Golf Championship. And representatives of the flamboyant American businessman said his company was excited at the prospect of getting involved. Speaking from Trump’s Fifth Avenue headquarters in New York, project manager Sutton Wheeler, said: “We would definitely be interested, it’s certainly a place to do business because it has such a great deal to offer. “Royal Liverpool obviously has a rich tradition of golf. I was on the course at the Open and the scenery was absolutely beautiful.” Mr Wheeler said Trump’s plans for a £1bn Links resort in Scotland would not prevent the company considering an opportunity in Wirral. He said: “We’re going ahead with plans for Scotland and I don’t think two such sites would be too close – if anything they would add value. “We can create a development here in New York and have another just two blocks away, so that’s not an issue. “Everyone knows what the Trump name stands for and a lot of people want to be part of that.” Still the chief executive of his organisation, Trump is a billionaire real estate developer. He was in the original US version of reality TV show The Apprentice, which starred Sir Alan Sugar in the UK. The golf fanatic, whose mother was Scottish, is already working on a £1bn resort in Aberdeenshire. Wirral council has been supported by Royal Liverpool Golf Club and the Northwest Development Agency during its planning stage for the resort. The council says its ambition was for the 2006 Open Championship to leave a lasting legacy, making the most of leisure facilities and the area’s coastline. Emma Degg, the council’s head of tourism and marketing, said: “Hoylake is a very special place and Royal Liverpool is clearly a premiere golf destination. “We are in the process of preparing a prospectus in order to gauge potential private sector interest. “We fully anticipate considerable interest from prestige companies across the world.” kevincore@liverpoolecho.co.uk | 
Article
