Save Loch Lomond: Greens slam Government extension of Flamingo Land’s exclusive contract
Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer has slammed the decision of the Scottish Government’s enterprise agency to extend Flamingo Land’s exclusive contract to land on the southern shore of Loch Lomond at Balloch, paving the way for the developer to appeal the rejection of their mega-resort application.
At a public hearing in September the board of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park unanimously rejected the Yorkshire theme park operator’s plans for two hotels, a waterpark, a hundred woodland lodges, over 370 parking spaces, a monorail, shops, restaurants and more at Balloch.
This came after a campaign led by Mr Greer collected a record 155,000 objections to the plans, alongside objections from a variety of environmental groups and organisations.
Mr Greer received notice today from Scottish Enterprise that they will extend Flamingo Land’s exclusive contract to the land alongside the River Leven and southern shore of Loch Lomond, which makes up a majority of the proposed site. This extension allows Flamingo Land to lodge an appeal to the Scottish Government to overturn their application rejection. The contract gives Flamingo Land the exclusive right to buy the publicly owned land if they secure planning permission.
Following the National Park’s rejection of the plans in September, Greer called on the First Minister to end Flamingo Land’s exclusive contract.
Reacting to the news, Ross Greer MSP said: “This ridiculous company just doesn't know when to give up, and it is bitterly disappointing that the Scottish Government are helping them in their attempts to ruin this special corner of Loch Lomond.
“Extending Flamingo Land’s exclusive contract for the land means that an appeal is now all but certain, despite the overwhelming reasons for its rejection in the first place.
“Our campaign to Save Loch Lomond lodged a record 155,000 objections to these daft and destructive mega-resort plans. We were joined by experts from the likes of the Woodland Trust, Ramblers and most importantly, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. Not only that, the National Park’s own planning officers carefully considered the application and agreed that it must be rejected on the basis of both flood risk and damage to the natural environment.
“Flamingo Land has spent a decade trying to force a mega-resort on Balloch. We beat them in 2019 and then again earlier this year. This greedy company just cannot take no for an answer. I am incredibly frustrated that the Scottish Government is enabling this saga through an exclusive contract which should have been terminated years ago. There are absolutely no grounds to approve the application on appeal. We have urged Flamingo Land to accept reality and get round the table to discuss alternatives, but they clearly have no interest in listening to the community.
“The Scottish Greens will continue our campaign and work alongside Balloch residents to ensure that these destructive plans are rejected once again. Exhausted as we all are after a decade of this nonsense, we are ready to fight once again to save Loch Lomond.”
