A campaign launched by the Scottish Greens party has reached over 100,000 objections. The political party opposes the creation of a Flamingo Land on top of the shores of Loch Lomond.
The Yorkshire-based company has provided a theme park, zoo, and resort since 1959. They previously attempted to open a Flamingo Land on Loch Lomond, including a hotel, craft brewery, and leisure centre.
This proposition was strongly opposed with an online petition receiving 60,000 signatures which led to the company abandoning its plans in 2019.
Now, 5 years later, Flamingo Land is proposing new plans to create the resort with a hotel, craft brewery, and leisure centre. The new resort is a huge increase in scale from the previous proposal. It now requires 104 woodland lodges water parks, hotels, and monorail.
The national parks’ local development plans cannot sustain such a large-scale development. It will cause an increase in traffic congestion and the privatisation of local community land. It also risks the long-term safety of the ancient woodland on the site.
The Scottish Greens, the Woodland Trust, and Ramblers Scotland have worked together to oppose this land development to support the residents’ efforts to preserve the Loch. The campaign has 3 key areas of concern surrounding the plans:
Scale and density of development
The planned size of the resort significantly deviates from the National Parks Local Development Plan and is larger than what the Local Development Plan suggests. The resort overreaches into areas intended for the boathouse and “hard landscape public realm” around the shore of Drumkinnon Bay.
The development of a waterfront hotel and waterpark will add to further overdevelopment of the shorefront. This raises concerns about the impact on the local ecosystem, especially the Atlantic salmon or river lamprey present in the River Leven.
Impact on transport/ climate change
The introduction of self-catering accommodation with parking in the resort will bring an increase in private transportation. The National Park’s Sustainable and Active Travel Policy states that “We can no longer adopt a ‘predict and provide’ approach to private transport and there needs to be a definitive shift to more sustainable modes”.
This means that congestion will be increased on both local roads and the A82 trunk road. Due to the increase in car journeys, the carbon emissions of the area will undermine the Scottish Government’s target of reducing car kilometres by 20% by 2030.
Restriction of leisure space/access
The development would infringe on informal open space in the West Riverside area for use by the local community and visitors alike. This would lead to the disruption of public access due to excessive road users and restrict the existing open space that residents consider to be of good amenity value.
The Scottish Greens urge any residents or activists who oppose the development of this resort to send a message expressing their concerns to planning@lochlomond-trossachs.org.
Photo Credit: pexels.com
Third year Undergraduate Student at University of Stirling studying Politics and Film & Media.
