Flamingo Land Loch Lomond campaigners slam council u-turn on controversial £40m bid

Campaigners against Flamingo Land’s Loch Lomond mega resort have slammed the local council after they reversed their previous opposition to the bid.

And Balloch residents urged Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority, which will ultimately issue the final ruling on the £40million bid, not to turn the beloved beauty spot into a “cash cow”.

It follows a West Dunbartonshire town hall meeting on Wednesday where councillors voted not to oppose the development - provided it comes with road improvements including a roundabout upgrade.

That marked a u-turn on the local authority’s previous outright opposition to the first Flamingo Land bid to build on the Bonnie Banks, ditched due to local anger in 2019.

The Yorkshire theme park operator returned with a second planning application in 2022 for including a water park, monorail, swimming pool, hotel, eateries and more than 100 lodges.

Critics like Green MSP Ross Greer insist the plan is too massive for the area, would scar the stunning landscape, clog up roads and threaten nature - but developers Lomond Banks claim it will be a shot in the arm for the local economy.

A previous survey found 74 per cent of locals opposed the plan - while the Scottish Greens claim the new bid has now had more than 84,000 objections via its Save Loch Lomond petition campaign.

Lynne Somerville, chair of the Balloch and Haldane Community Council, has now pleaded with the park authority to take account of community anger.

She told the Record: “This is the last piece of land in public ownership that not just the people of Balloch and Haldane but of West Dunbartonshire can call their own around the banks of Loch Lomond.

“That should be reason enough, not considering the other hard facts in reference to the environmental impacts, the economic reasons and so on.

“So I really would ask the National Park Authority to consider local feeling.

“That land really should be utilised for the people, run by the people, for the people, for the betterment of our local community.

“Not to line someone else’s pockets or to be a cash cow for anyone.”

The local mum, who addressed West Dunbartonshire Council’s meeting on Wednesday, suggested local chiefs were “breaching due process” by not taking into account community objections.

Lynne added: “These people get a lot of power and they're not taking their power seriously. They’re passing the buck.”

Marion Saorse Plunkett, who lives in neighbouring Alexandria and is a regular visitor to the proposed site, hit out: "West Dunbartonshire Council may have orchestrated a whitewash but the local community has no intention of giving up our fight.

"Save Loch Lomond and Balloch & Haldane Community Council will be stepping up our efforts to protect our beautiful places."

Speaking to the Record, Councillor David McBride, spokesman for infrastructure and economic development in the Labour-run administration, said: "Ultimately, it was agreed the council should remain neutral but press the National Park that any application if successful should have mitigations on improvement to the roads infrastructure and traffic management.

"This was a concern universally raised by local residents.”

Flamingo Land bosses say they have made “significant amendments” following feedback, including a pledge to upgrade the congested Stoneymollan Roundabout in Balloch.

And they claim the project will bring jobs and tourism to the area, bolstering the local economy.

A spokeswoman for Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority said: “West Dunbartonshire Council is a neighbouring planning authority and also delivers services such as roads in the local area of the application site.

"So their responses, as well as those from other statutory consultees such as SEPA, will be considered as part of officers’ assessment of this planning application.

"We have also received further information recently, mostly related to flooding and traffic matters. We have a duty to formally notify the public and further consult with statutory consultees on this new information and will do so in the coming weeks.

“This will allow officers to progress with their assessment, prepare a report and make a recommendation to the National Park Authority Board. The final decision will be taken at a public meeting and hearing.

"Exact timelines for that meeting to determine the application will become clearer once this final round of consultation is complete.”

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