As an overseas life member at Royal Portrush, I stay in a Portballantrae bungalow every year on my visits and directly overlook the Bushfoot golf club adjacent to this property. I've walked this site many times and always thought it would be a great links course, but I was always told by the locals that it would never receive planning permission.
I've followed Dr. Alistair Hanna's proposal from the beginning and give him great credit for stickhandling through years of planning highs and lows, I'm sure at great added expense.
The last I heard was there are now two major objections besides finalizing financing. Unesco has objected to the development as its too close to the Giant's Causeway, a Unesco World Heritage Site. Apparently they want to overrule the local planning commission and that has lead to more delays. The second item is that a conservation group came forward last fall stating they have now discovered, surprise, surprise, that the dunes are habitat to a rare bee which has overtones to the Doonbeg snail issue.
I worry that when all is said and done, too many compromises may downgrade the site potential from sensational to mediocre. Seems like this initial great idea has hit the bureaucratic "paralysis of analysis" wall, and sadly may never get off the ground at this rate.
I personally think Dr. Hanna should tone down the size of the resort and focus on building a first rate golf course with a more modest resort element to appease Unesco. The current over- the- top resort, with limited views of the sea, probably accounts for 75% of the 100 million pound cost. This would resolve the financing issue IMO.