Flamingo Land lodges appeal with Scottish Government over £40m Loch Lomond plan
Flamingo Land has lodged an appeal with the Scottish Government after its plan for a £40 million resort on the banks of Loch Lomond was rejected.
The Yorkshire-based theme park operator wants to build a water park, self-catering lodges and a hotel on the site at Balloch, West Dunbartonshire.
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Hide AdBut its planning application was refused in September by the Loch Lomond and National Park Authority’s board.
It received almost 175,000 objections, while a church minister told a board meeting at Lomond Parish Church in Alexandria that people had been “duped”.


Plans for the resort were first submitted six years ago. The proposal, called Lomond Banks, includes two hotels and more than 100 self-catering lodges as well as a water park, monorail and 372 car parking spaces.
The Scottish Government’s economic development quango was criticised on Friday after it extended an exclusivity deal with Flamingo Land for a section of land at Loch Lomond. As part of a deal with Scottish Enterprise, the sale of the land is contingent on planning permissions being obtained ahead of time.
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Hide AdJim Paterson, development director for Lomond Banks, said: “We have submitted our appeal for our Lomond Banks development to the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) in line with the timings outlined to us via letter from Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park.
“We wholeheartedly believe in the many benefits Lomond Banks could bring to Balloch, the Vale of Leven and Scotland as a whole, and ask the DPEA for a fair hearing and to consider the facts of the proposals.
“In socioeconomic terms, the level of financial investment and jobs together with the consideration and conservation of the natural environment, offers a notable boost and we have been urged by members of the local community to drive forward with the appeal in the hope that the many benefits this development would bring can be unlocked and brought to fruition.”
Mr Paterson said the final proposals for the site were adapted to “reflect more than two years of ongoing community engagement”. He said the resort would add £3.9 million to the local economy.
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Hide AdGreen MSP Ross Greer, who led a campaign against the plans, said: “This is desperate behaviour from a greedy company who refuse to accept that their absurd plans are not welcome at Loch Lomond. The Scottish Government must listen to the community and the experts, reject this appeal and protect a world famous Scottish landscape.”
A Scottish Enterprise spokeswoman said: “Scotland’s statutory planning process is designed to ensure that economic, environmental and community interests are all taken into account when an application is considered.
“That is why we opted to make any sale of the land at West Riverside subject to planning permission, ensuring that the full range of evidence and views are fully considered.
“We believe this process should be allowed to run to its conclusion. Scottish Enterprise will therefore extend the conditional missive with the developer to allow any planning appeal to be considered.
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Hide Ad“We continue our engagement with Balloch and Haldane Community Council around their plans to see how we can support them while this process is ongoing.”
Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie, who has represented the nearby Dumbarton constituency since the opening of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, said she was “extremely disappointed by Scottish Enterprise’s decision to extend the exclusivity agreement”.
She added: “I am clear that the majority of the community do not wish this development to go ahead.”
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