Protestors gather at Edinburgh's Scottish Parliament over 'shameful' Flamingo Land plan

Edinburgh Live

5 days ago

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Protestors gathered at Edinburgh's Holyrood to demand that the Scottish Government overturns the decision to allow a "mega resort" to be built on the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond.
On Thursday, May 29, MSP Ross Greer said it was "shameful" that ministers have so far refused to overturn the decision made by officials that gave the green light to Flamingo Land to construct the £40m tourist destination near Balloch.
The long-running planning application was initially rejected by the Loch Lomond National Park authority in September last year after thousands of public objections were received.
But that decision was overturned by the Scottish Government Reporter, subject to a legal agreement between Flamingo Land and park bosses, reports The Daily Record.
Flanked by protesters outside the Scottish Parliament, the Green MSP said: "There are simply no reasons to accept this application. It would be a scar on the natural landscape of Loch Lomond, it would be devastating for the local community, and for 10 years we have successfully made that case.
"For 10 years, we have built our movement to protect Loch Lomond. At every step of the way we were succesful because the argument and the evidence were on our side.
"And now, at the very end of this process, we have a Government official overturning local democracy, overturning a decision made on an incredible weight of evidence against the application.
"We now have ministers of a Scottish Government that claims to stand up for Scotland deciding that, in this case, they simply will not do so, they will allow this destructive mega resort to go ahead.
"We say, absolutely not. We can still save Loch Lomond, Government ministers still have the opportunity to recall and reject that decision."
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He added: "Appallingly, when I asked the Scottish Government planning minister if they would do that, they emphatically said no. Absolutely shameful. Scottish Government ministers not willing to stand up for Scotland's world famous natural environment."
Greer, who has led protests against the development, called on SNP ministers to intervene on the matter - following a precedent established in 2008 when Trump was permitted to build a golf course in Aberdeenshire despite being initially refused permission by the local council.
Flamingo Land have attempted to gain planning permission for their resort at Balloch for the past decade, with their first application failing in 2019.
Their latest bid was unanimously rejected by the board of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park at a public hearing in September of last year.
This followed a campaign led by Ross Greer which collected over 155,000 individual objections to the plans, as well as objections from the National Trust for Scotland, Woodland Trust, Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the local community council and the Park's own expert planning officers.
Flamingo Land lodged an appeal against this decision shortly before Christmas, seeking to have the rejection overturned by the Scottish Government and secure consent for their plans, which include two hotels, a waterpark, over 370 car parking spaces, a hundred woodland lodges, monorail, and more.
Jim Paterson, development director for Lomond Banks, previously described the planning victory a "real milestone moment for the Lomond Banks vision, and has been a long time in the making."
He added: "Our proposals have been informed by more than two years of positive engagement with the local community and key stakeholders.
"At the heart of our plans is a commitment to sustainable investment, local jobs, and a long-term partnership with the area, backed by our legally binding Lomond Promise to ensure the future prosperity of Balloch and beyond."