National park authority due to make decision on Monday over Flamingo Land development proposal
People in Balloch, on the southern shore of Loch Lomond, where the resort would be built. Photograph: Katherine Anne Rose/The Observer
If Flamingo Land’s proposal to build on the shores of Loch Lomond is rejected in a vote on Monday, that decision should spell the end of the plan, the Scottish Greens have said.
The Yorkshire-based theme park owner is behind the Lomond Banks proposal, under which two hotels and more than 100 self-catering lodges would be built along with a water park and other amenities.
The Scottish Green party has led a campaign against the project on the southern shore of the loch at Balloch, and a decision on the proposal is due to be made by the Loch Lomond and Trossachs national park authority.
The party said that if the authority voted to reject the plan – which would be the second time Lomond Banks has been unsuccessful in the past five years – it should “mark the end” of attempts to go ahead with the development.
The Green MSP Ross Greer said: “For Flamingo Land to scar it with this garish resort would be the worst kind of cultural and environmental vandalism.”
He added: “It is staggering that Flamingo Land has pushed things this far. Over 150,000 people and many respected organisations have made clear that their daft plans are not welcome, but they have refused to listen.
“The local community and people across Scotland have made their feelings known. I hope that at long last, today will mark the end of the road for Flamingo Land and a destructive proposal that Loch Lomond neither wants or needs.”
In 2018 the company behind the project, Flamingo Land Limited, submitted proposals for a tourist development at Loch Lomond that included a hotel, craft brewery and leisure centre. It met with strong opposition.
The company withdrew its original plans in 2019 but returned in 2020 with an updated £40m proposal featuring a water park, monorail, swimming pool, hotel and restaurants.
The authority’s decision on the project will be made at a public meeting at Lomond parish church.
Jim Paterson, the development director for Lomond Banks, said it had worked incredibly hard over the past two years to create something that the local area could be hugely proud of.
“We have been deeply encouraged by the number of supporters who have contacted us ahead of today’s [Monday’s] meeting,” he said. “We hope for a fair hearing, where our proposals will be considered on the facts presented and not the false information that has been spread by others.”
Flamingo Land is a theme park, zoo and resort located in the village of Kirby Misperton, North Yorkshire. It opened in 1959.
