A controversial bid to build a Flamingo Land mega resort on Loch Lomond has become the most objected to planning application in Scottish history, the Greens have revealed.
The blueprint for the massive holiday complex to be built on the banks of the iconic loch includes a hotel, a water park, a monorail, more than 100 lodges and a watersports hub.
Opponents of the Yorkshire firm’s project in Balloch, West Dunbartonshire, claim it would “scar” the stunning landscape and have criticised proposals to “rip out nature” in order to build the resort.
Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer - who has been campaigning against the plan - said it had now smashed the record for the highest number of objections ever, with more than 62,000 and counting.
He said the previous record was Flamingo Land’s first attempt to get the green-light for a Loch Lomond park - with the latest proposals being their second bid.
The West Scotland MSP said: “There can be no clearer sign for those considering this nature-wrecking application that the public do not want it in our National Park.
“A record number of people, more than the 60,000 who objected previously, agree that this is the wrong plan for the wrong place and that it should be rejected at the earliest opportunity.
“The community at Balloch are overwhelmingly opposed to these plans and I know how much they appreciate the support from across the country."
Greer added: “Flamingo Land’s owner promised that he would rip it up and move on if it was clear the development was not wanted by the community. He should now make good on that promise and walk away.
“This ‘resort’ would be a scar on the area, a blight on a world famous natural landscape and a slap in the face to tens of thousands of people who have voiced their objections.
“If the sheer embarrassment of having the most unpopular planning application in Scottish history isn’t enough, if the strength of community feeling against it isn’t enough, if the weight of expert opinion from the likes of the Woodland Trust and National Trust for Scotland isn’t enough to force Flamingo Land into walking away, then it is for the National Park’s board to do the right thing and reject their plans entirely.”
The theme park operator previously watered down plans to build on ancient woodland at the site amid local anger - and after park chiefs demanded stronger environmental assurances in December.
Its previous application was withdrawn in 2019.
The campaign against the latest plans has garnered attention around the UK and gained traction on social media, with the hashtag #SaveLochLomond trending on Twitter on Thursday.
Developers Lomond Banks, along with Flamingo Land, insist they’ve engaged with the local community throughout the process.
Jim Paterson, Development Director for Lomond Banks, said: “Ross Greer has once again demonstrated that he is more interested in clickbait politics aimed at raising his own profile than having a constructive dialogue about what could be a major investment into both the local economy in Balloch and Scotland as a whole.
“He has relentlessly tried to interfere with a statutory planning process that doesn’t sit within his jurisdiction and – in a shameless attempt to get people to click his online petition – the majority of the claims he has made about our proposals are utterly false.
"There is simply no way to validate the numbers he is quoting and who the people who clicked his sham petition are or where they live."
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