DEVELOPERS have submitted revised plans for a major tourism resort on the shores on Loch Lomond after concerns were expressed about their previous proposal.
In 2019, the company behind the proposed Lomond Banks development in Balloch – theme park company Flamingo Land – withdrew its initial proposal after more than 60,000 people signed a petition calling for it to be scrapped.
Officials at the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority also recommended that the plans be abandoned.
However, a revised planning proposal was submitted in 2022 which would see the construction of two hotels, up to 127 self-catering cottages, a waterpark and a monorail on the site.
The National Park Authority then requested answers on 16 separate issues it had with the proposal from Lomond Banks contractors Stantec.
Concerns included the lack of a detailed Environmental Impact Assessment on the area, including the project’s potential impact on ancient woodlands and water quality.
Now, Lomond Banks has resubmitted the proposal after making what it says are significant amendments to the plan.
A woodland area that was previously set for destruction, known as Area 10, would now be retained and more native tree planting scheduled if given the go-ahead.
Jim Paterson, development director for Lomond Banks, said: “We have been committed to listening to the National Park, the local community, local businesses and all other key stakeholders, and their feedback to date has really helped to shape our plans into something that fits the vision for a tourism business of the future, which Balloch and the wider Loch Lomond area could truly benefit from.
“We welcomed this latest feedback from the Park Authority and much of it aligned with what we were hearing from the community. We got to work to modify the proposals accordingly with our partners by removing Area 10, retaining more trees, bringing down lodge and bothy numbers and ensuring an overall higher net biodiversity gain.”
Paterson also claimed that “the opposition” were using concern about traffic and parking as a “scaremongering tool” and said the new proposal provided more information about parking strategy and traffic statistics.
He went on: “Whilst we do appreciate the road network is an ongoing concern for those living around the A82, our surveys have indicated that the development simply will not bring the concentrated numbers at peak times that it is being accused of and we have mitigated this further by introducing measures such as staggered check-in and check-out times to ensure this is not the case.
“All traffic surveys submitted to our statutory consultees West Dunbartonshire Council Roads Department have, to date, been satisfactory. We have also submitted a comprehensive parking strategy to the National Park and conducted further surveys through peak seasons to submit to the Parks Authority. Alongside this, we have made a number of commitments to join working groups to look at sustainable travel planning and eco-travel at the venue, to help ease congestion for the longer term.”
Scottish Greens MSP Ross Greer has previously called for the project to be scrapped, calling it a “garish, oversized and totally inappropriate development”.
He told The National: "These revisions show just how flawed Flamingo Land's plans have always been.
"They are also quite clearly a response to both the overwhelming public opposition and to the detailed letter of objection submitted by my team. In short, we've got them on the run.
"This is far from over, though. We may have saved the ancient woodland, but what the developers are proposing is still totally inappropriate and will lead to extra congestion and a strain on local services, never mind the huge impact it will have on the local landscape.
"People in Balloch and the surrounding communities will see through these revised proposals, just as they have with every previous attempt. Over 40,00 people have lodged objections and surveys show local residents are opposed by a margin of three to one.
"If we are to protect the world-famous natural landscape of Loch Lomond then we need to see off Flamingo Land once and for all.
"Loch Lomond is one of the jewels in Scotland's crown. Putting an exclusive resort right at the gateway to the Loch would be a huge step backwards."
Following the submission, a 30-day consultation period will take place before Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority decide whether the application will progress.
