London (dpa) - US tycoon Donald Trump Monday won a long and acrimonious battle over plans to build a luxury golf course, hotel complex and apartments in Scotland, leaving local residents and environmental groups the disappointed losers.

John Swinney, finance secretary in the regional government of Scotland, said approval of the 1-billion-pound (1.6-billion dollar) golf resort would bring "a significant economic and social benefit" to Scotland.

The complex is to include two golf-courses, a luxury hotel with 450 rooms and hundreds of luxury apartments in an area of outstanding natural beauty near Aberdeen, on the north-east coast of Scotland.

Trump, who made ample use of his Scottish heritage in his quest to gain planning permission, said the project would be a "tremendous asset and source of pride for Aberdeenshire and Scotland for many generations."

"We are greatly honoured by the positive decision and believe that the people of Scotland will be extremely happy with the final product," he said.

Alex Salmond, the leader of the Scottish government, also hailed approval for the project and said the economic and social benefits far outweighed environmental concerns.

Salmond, in whose local constituency of Gordon the complex will be built, said it was a "powerful argument" that 1,400 of the 6,000 jobs that will be created would be "local and permanent." (dpa)