More than two years after the first petition against Flamingo Land’s plans to build a ‘tourist resort’ on the banks of Loch Lomond, the Scottish Green Party have launched the Save Loch Lomond campaign opposing the proposal.
The campaign is led by Scottish Green MSP for the West of Scotland, Ross Greer:
“They’ve come back with a plan that’s just as big, just as destructive as the last one.”
Flamingo Land’s original plans were revised once before in 2019 and included dropping the branding of Flamingo Land, opting to rebrand as Lomond Banks.
The revised bid was met with further public backlash and nearly 60,000 people signed a petition against the Lomond Banks project.
The 2022 application is more environmentally focused and Lomond Banks revisions remove all development from ancient woodland at Drumkinnon Wood.
They claim there have been “a number of fundamental changes”. This includes nearly a year’s worth of “extensive community liaison and consultation”.
Lomond Banks development director Jim Paterson said, “We have listened to the issues raised throughout our consultation process, and the plans now include very significant amendments to ensure Lomond Banks will be in keeping with its environment and protect its treasured assets.
“Our environmental and commercial commitment to Balloch and West Riverside remains steadfast, and we want to complement what makes Loch Lomond so attractive to visitors. Our aim would be to invest and hire locally, as well as working with local businesses to maximise the benefits of the development for all.”
However the new Scottish Green petition claims that “planning permission being granted will result in all of the ancient woodland being sold to Flamingo Land, so there is no guarantee it will be safe in the long term.”
There are also claims that creating a resort in an already congested tourist spot will add more unnecessary traffic to the picturesque spot.
The petition can be found on the Scottish Greens website and the full Lomond Banks proposal is also available online.
Featured Image Credit: The Scottish Green Party
3rd year English and Journalism student and secretary of Brig Newspaper
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