The Scottish Green Party has relaunched its ‘save Loch Lomond’ campaign, following a new proposal being lodged by Flamingo Land.
The Yorkshire-based theme park operator submitted a planning application earlier this week, aiming to create a new £40m “sustainable tourism destination” on the banks of the loch, near West Riverside and Woodbank House.
This comes following nearly 12 months of community consultation, which has led to several changes to the plans, compared to the previous submission lodged in 2018.
These include a revised vision of the site adjacent to the pierhead, separate to the public slipway managed by the national park, to be more in keeping with the natural landscape, and the complete removal of any development in the ancient Drumkinnon Wood.
The development also includes pledges regarding employment, supporting local supply chains in the area, as well as providing training opportunities for visitors and staff, alongside links to local schools and colleges.
A previous campaign against the development, organised by Scottish Green Party MSP Ross Greer, saw around 60,000 objections lodged. In 2019, the local council rejected Flamingo Land's initial planning application.
Speaking at First Minister’s Questions yesterday, Greer said that it would be “unacceptable for one of the most accessible locations on Loch Lomond to be closed off to all but the select few who will pay to stay at this resort”.
He continued: “Our successful efforts to defeat their first application saw a record 60,000 objections lodged with the National Park, citing the damage to ancient woodland, risk to protected species, strain on local roads, access for local residents and a range of other concerns.
“Sadly Flamingo Land are back, having just lodged a new application for a development of the same scale on the same site.
“National Parks are for all of us - it would be unacceptable for one of the most accessible locations on Loch Lomond to be closed off to all but the select few who will pay to stay at this resort.”
James Paterson, development director for Lomond Banks, said: “I would like to reaffirm our position that at no point would the resort be closed off to wider visitors - our intention is to create an tourism and leisure resort that families can come and enjoy as part of their Loch Lomond experience; not exclusively so.
“These plans are within a location that for a long time has been designated for such a development, and we believe we have struck the right balance between bringing strong economic growth and employment opportunities to the area, being ecologically sensitive to the natural surroundings and ensuring Lomond Banks is something that everyone will be able to enjoy.
“We have consulted within the local community extensively over the last 12 months and have welcomed a lot of support for the plans, in particular around our accessibility pledge.”
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