Lost Lomond
Furious residents slam council for U-turn on plans for Flamingo Land resort at beauty spot
CAMPAIGNERS reacted with fury after Flamingo Land’s bid to build a £40million mega resort on the shores of Loch Lomond was backed by the council.
A community group has issued a rallying call for residents to protest next week when West Dunbartonshire Council meets to discuss the plans.
Council planners have urged councillors to endorse the development – provided it comes with road improvements.
But residents have long said a resort on this scale would spoil the iconic landscape and put too much pressure on roads, infrastructure and nature.
The Yorkshire theme park operator’s proposals include a water park, monorail, swimming pool, hotel, eateries and more than 100 lodges.
Local mum Lynne Somerville, chair of Balloch and Haldane Community Council, slammed planners for recommending approval of the plans.
She said: “They should be listening to the community – we don’t want Flamingo Land. We want inward investment but it needs to be the correct investment – this is not.”
She is urging residents to attend next Wednesday’s council meeting in Dumbarton, and accused the local authority of a U-turn. Councillors opposed the original bid in 2019.
She said: “It’s questionable why they’ve changed their opinion. It stinks to the high heavens.”
Campaigning Green MSP Ross Greer hit out: “Balloch does not need woodland lodges and almost 400 parking spaces, never mind a waterpark, hotel and monorail scarring one of Scotland’s most iconic landscapes.”
The council’s objection to the first scheme helped lead to it being dropped by developers at the 11th hour. But the ultimate decision-maker is Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority – which will hold a public hearing in due course.
Flamingo Land bosses say they have made “significant amendments” to their plans. Developers have also pledged to upgrade congested Stoneymollan Roundabout in Balloch. In August, we also revealed eco watchdog SEPA had flagged parts of the development as a serious flood risk. Latest papers submitted by Flamingo Land to the National Park Authority, however, claim the plans are covered by an exception under planning laws as the area sited a railway up until 1986.
Flamingo Land has revised an estimate of extra traffic generated from 158 car journeys between the 5.30pm-6.30pm peak to 253 – around one extra vehicle every 14 seconds.
Greer said: “The fact this part of the site had a railway on it will be irrelevant when it’s under water. More than 250 extra cars at peak hours should ring alarm bells for anyone familiar with the problems on the A82.”
The council papers say: “The proposal would help to establish Balloch as a gateway to Loch Lomond and increase its attractiveness as a tourist destination… and increase local employment opportunities.”
Jim Paterson, of Flamingo Land’s Lomond Banks developer, said: “It will bring considerable economic and social benefit to the region. We look forward to progressing the application.”