Flamingo Land plan for £30m Loch Lomond leisure resort published

The company behind a controversial project to build a £30 million leisure resort on the banks of Loch Lomond have submitted detailed plans to the park's national authority for approval.

The proposed development on the banks of Loch Lomond has proved controversial. Picture: Allan Milligan/TSPL

It is the first time that images of the proposed tourist attraction, which would be built on vacant land near to the existing Lomond Shores shopping centre, have been published online.

Flamingo Land Ltd have requested planning permission in principle to build 105 holiday lodges, a 60-bed hotel, a 32 space hostel, a monorail and recreational facilities including a swimming pool and water park, forest adventure rides and a tree-top walkway.

The site could also include education and visitor interpretation facilities and a restaurant, while the facade of the listed Woodbank House would be retained.

An artist's impression of how the holiday lodges could look. The final plans have yet to be submitted.

Andy Miller, director of sales for Flamingo Land, said: “We are delighted the proposal has been validated. There has been a huge amount of work over the last three years to get to this stage.

“We are still a long way off. However, we are now on the planning journey and a step closer to moving to the next stage.”

A spokesperson for Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park said: “A planning application has been received from Flamingo Land Ltd and Scottish Enterprise for their proposed development at West Riverside, Balloch.

“This will be considered according to normal planning procedures for applications of this scale which are deemed to be major developments.

“The application will be assessed against the planning policies and guidance before a report of recommendation is submitted to our board members for them to consider.”

Flamingo Land was announced as the preferred bidder for the site in 2016 by Scottish Enterprise (SE). But the move divided local residents, with two separate online petitions against the development attracting around 30,000 signatures.

Critics said the leisure park would be out of keeping with the area.

The backlash prompted SE to defend its decision two years ago.

Derek McCrindle of SE said in 2016 the development would “clearly recognise the key sensitivities of developing within Scotland’s national park”.

He added the developer’s strong track record in creating visitor attractions made them an ideal partner.