Flamingo Land has lodged an appeal with the Scottish Government over its controversial bid for a £40million holiday resort in Loch Lomond after it was previously crushed by local planners. The Yorkshire theme park operator’s huge proposed development on the Bonnie Banks was unanimously rejected by National Park board members in September.
Green MSP Ross Greer said the new appeal by developers was a “nightmare before Christmas” for locals who fought for years against the plans. Flamingo Land’s planning application – known as Lomond Banks – was thrown out in the autumn by local chiefs following a marathon public meeting in Balloch, West Dunbartonshire, which the Record attended.
The Lomond Banks bid, which included two hotels, hundreds of lodges and parking spaces, shops, eateries and a monorail, was deemed too large and environmentally damaging for the area, which falls within the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. But the Scottish Government‘s Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) has now listed an appeal by developers against the National Park Authority’s decision, which is still formally awaiting registration.
It follows anger earlier today after state quango Scottish Enterprise extended an exclusivity deal with Flamingo Land for the land at the proposed site. Announcing its appeal, Lomond Banks said it hoped for a “fair hearing” from the Scottish Government on the merits of its case, insisting it will bring jobs and tourism to the area.
But campaigning MSP Greer blasted: “This is desperate behaviour from a greedy company who refuse to accept that their absurd plans are not welcome at Loch Lomond. The Scottish Government must listen to the community and the experts, reject this appeal and protect a world famous Scottish landscape.
“It is frustrating that their appeal has been enabled by the exclusive government contract I urged the First Minister to end back in September. Frankly, it should never have been renewed after their first failed bid in 2019. This saga has gone on for years longer than it needed to.
“Our campaign to save Loch Lomond from Flamingo Land’s destructive proposals secured a record 155,000 objections. The National Park’s own planning officers even agreed that it must be rejected, as did Scotland’s national environment watchdog, SEPA.
“It really is a nightmare before Christmas to hear that this greedy developer just won’t take no for an answer.”
Labour deputy chief and Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie also said she’d previously asked FM John Swinney to axe the exclusivity deal. Baillie hit out: “As is often the case with the Scottish Government, these pleas fell on deaf ears. I am clear that the majority of the community do not wish this development to go ahead.”
Jim Paterson, Development Director for Lomond Banks, said: “We have submitted our appeal for our Lomond Banks development to the DPEA in line with the timings outlined to us via letter from Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. We wholeheartedly believe in the many benefits Lomond Banks could bring to Balloch, the Vale of Leven and Scotland as a whole and ask the DPEA for a fair hearing and to consider the facts of the proposals.
“In socioeconomic terms, the level of financial investment and jobs together with the consideration and conservation of the natural environment, offers a notable boost and we have been urged by members of the local community to drive forward with the appeal in the hope that the many benefits this development would bring can be unlocked and brought to fruition. Our final proposals were adapted to reflect more than two years of ongoing community engagement.”
James Fraser, former Loch Lomond Tourism Chief and recent Chair of the Friends of Loch Lomond, added: “I welcome the developer’s decision to submit an appeal against the refusal of this proposed high-quality tourist development. The former derelict and still polluted site at West Riverside, along with the derelict Woodbank Hotel near Loch Lomond Shores, have long been zoned for tourism in key planning documents. The appeal process will allow a thorough review of the project’s merits.”
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