National park authority concerns about proposals for a controversial Balloch tourist resort “signal the death knell” for Flamingo Land’s plans, an MSP has claimed.
However, those behind the Lomond Banks development, which includes a 60-bed hotel, 127 self-catering lodges, a monorail and restaurants, say that they will use feedback from Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park to “edit our plans further to fit the vision of the community.”
National park bosses have called on developers behind the controversial proposals for a major Balloch tourist resort to clarify details on woodland loss, traffic figures and parking spaces.
Flamingo Land submitted refreshed proposals for a major holiday park at West Riverside in May.
In a letter, published last month, planning officer Caroline Strugnell says a number of issues need to be addressed to enable Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority to reach a “conclusion on the significant effects of the proposed development on the environment”.
Among these are clarifications of the routing of the John Muir Way through the development and of the proposed pedestrian/cycle connection through the Woodbank House site.
More information is also sought on the areas of proposed woodland loss and retention.
There is also a section on traffic and transport which asks for a number of details, including anticipated vehicle numbers entering and leaving Balloch, as well as clarity on whether certain areas of parking will be sufficient.
Green MSP Ross Greer, whose online objection portal has contributed over 33,000 objections to the plans, has been a fierce critic – and labelled developers a “shambles.”
He said: “This is a massive rebuke to Flamingo Land and hopefully signals the death knell for their preposterous and damaging plans.
“For developers to fail to clearly provide one important piece of information would be careless, but the fact that the national park has made 16 requests shows how much of a shambles we’re dealing with here. Flamingo Land has been quick to accuse others of spreading misinformation, yet this letter from the national park shows how inconsistent and unclear their own plans are.
“This is far more serious than just an illustration of flaws in the plans. It shows how, by failing to submit a compliant Environmental Impact Assessment, the developers are gambling with the future of one of Scotland’s most iconic locations.
“Flamingo Land have failed to provide precise information on the risk to ancient woodland, nature and water quality. They haven’t even confirmed a clear number of parking places or whether those car parks will result in further loss of woodland. They can’t even say how many car journeys their plans would generate, so we don’t know the climate or traffic impacts of this garish and damaging proposal.
“Even in the extremely unlikely event that Flamingo Land is able to provide satisfactory answers to these questions, the development would still be a disaster.
“It would be a scar on the shore of Loch Lomond and would come at a great cost to the local community. It would mean a massive loss of ancient woodland, which is why I, and many locals, will continue to fight back against it.
“Recent community surveys have shown that residents oppose these plans by a margin of three to one. Flamingo Land’s boss promised years ago that if the community weren’t behind them, they would walk away.
“Not only are the people of Balloch clearly ready to see the back of them, it now appears that they’re losing the confidence of the park authority as well.”
Hitting back, Jim Paterson, development director for Lomond Banks, said: “This is yet another attempt by Ross Greer to interfere in a legitimate planning process by using inflammatory language and presenting misinformation as fact.
“Of course, it is not for Ross Greer to decide on the merits of this planning application, this decision continues to sit with the planning authority and the statutory consultees.
“Our commitment to shaping our plans around community and stakeholder feedback has been paramount throughout this application journey, so this feedback from the national park is hugely valuable in aiding us to edit our plans further to fit the vision of the community, businesses, and the planning authority alike.
“We are steadfast in our plans for Lomond Banks and we truly believe we can deliver something that Balloch and the wider area can greatly benefit from.
“We will now consider the further questions and requests, and get to work on how best to respond to these in the coming weeks. We look forward to engaging in this process further and, working with our experts and partners, to deliver on what has been asked of us.
“Likewise, the national park has also asked us to make assurances around the location of the John Muir Way, which we will be happy to confirm.
“Providing access to such routes of national significance continues to be of vital importance to us all and we have maintained a strong position around this from the
outset.”
