A retired community councillor said he received “hate mail” over a decision to back plans for a controversial tourist resort – despite local opposition.
Murdoch Cameron, who recently stepped down as chair of Balloch and Haldane Community Council (BHCC), told the Lennox Herald former members have received hateful messages from members of the public.
Meanwhile, another former member, who wishes to remain anonymous, revealed they would not be standing for re-election due to the angry response.
It comes as West Dunbartonshire Council today confirmed BHCC did not receive enough nominations before the deadline of September 27 to re-form after their term recently ended.
Last month, BHCC decided to back Flamingo Land’s proposals for a £40million holiday park in Balloch – despite only 25 percent of people supporting it. They insisted a survey used to gather local opinion was not a true representation as only 10 percent of residents voted.
Cllr Bollan posted on social media last week: “I understand there have been resignations, people not seeking re-election and not enough new members seeking election.”
Mr Cameron told the Lennox Herald: “The community council has come to the end of its elected year, and the election is now taking place. Most of the community councillors are not standing again.
"There should be an entirely new community council come October. Quite a few of us, like myself, have stood for 20-plus years, and in other words, we are retiring.
"We have served our time. We have not resigned.
“It might be the case that this is the end of Balloch and Haldane Community Council, but I honestly don’t know.”
It is understood the council's communities teams will work with three community council areas which did not receive sufficient nominations to form a community council, to encourage others to come forward. If there is enough interest a decision will be taken to re-run elections in those areas.
No community council areas received more than the maximum nominations required to trigger a vote during last month's nomination window.
Mr Cameron added: “What about all these people that send us hate mail and accuse us of stuff? Why don’t they want to stand?”
Blasting residents over the backlash, an anonymous community councillor said: “People forget that we are volunteers, and we are giving up our time out of our own pockets, and we are being hit with that all because people don’t agree with the decision.
"We issued 3,000 surveys, and received roughly 300 against and 100 for, but people forget that 2,600 other people didn’t complete the survey. We don’t know if they were for, against or even cared.
"The level of apathy in this community is ridiculous. Personally, I was going to stand again, but after reading all these comments, I have decided that I am going to find something more productive to do with my time if people don’t appreciate us.
“People will shout and bawl about what you do, but they aren’t prepared to do it themselves.”
Flamingo Land submitted renewed plans for a holiday park earlier this year. The firm withdrew a bid to build in 2019 following more than 55,000 public objections, with the latest plans continuing to split opinion.
Cllr Bollan, of West Dunbartonshire Community Party said local people are “astonished and angry”. He commented: “No matter how BHCC try to dress it up, their demise and their anti-democratic decision to support the Flamingo Land application after 74 percent of residents who returned their survey forms said no to Flamingo Land, are inextricably linked.
"Local residents were astonished and angry at the position BHCC adopted, which was the complete opposite of how the residents’ vote went. Community councils can be a force for good, if they are representative of local people’s views.
"Unfortunately on this occasion, community councillors voted to reflect their own personal support for Flamingo Land, not those of the wider community”.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - sign up to our daily newsletter here.
