Flamingo Land’s controversial bid to build a mega resort in Balloch has become the most objected to planning application in Scottish history, according to the Greens.
The party claims that more than 69,000 objections have been collected against the proposals, stating that the plans would “scar” the local landscape.
Developers have slammed campaigning MSP Ross Greer’s petition, labelling it a “sham” with “no way to validate the numbers he is quoting.”
The planning application lodged with the national park has 315 official objections and 31 supporting comments.
The blueprint for the holiday complex to be built on the banks at West Riverside includes a hotel, a water park, a monorail, more than 100 lodges and a watersports hub.
In February developers behind the plans for the £40million “world class sustainable tourism destination” named Lomond Banks formally submitted their revised plans.
Flamingo Land, which is behind the development, say it has made “significant amendments” to original proposals for the land at West Riverside, which were withdrawn in 2019 after more than 60,000 public objections.
And Green MSP for the West of Scotland Ross Greer has called for the developers to abandon their proposals.
He said: “A record number of people, more than the 60,000 who objected previously, agree that this is the wrong plan for the wrong place and that it should be rejected at the earliest opportunity.
“The community at Balloch are overwhelmingly opposed to these plans and I know how much they appreciate the support from across the country.
“This resort would be a scar on the area, a blight on a world famous natural landscape and a slap in the face to tens of thousands of people who have voiced their objections.”
Hitting back, Jim Paterson, development director for Lomond Banks, said: “Ross Greer has once again demonstrated that he is more interested in clickbait politics aimed at raising his own profile than having a constructive dialogue about what could be a major investment into both the local economy in Balloch and Scotland as a whole.
“He has relentlessly tried to interfere with a statutory planning process that doesn’t sit within his jurisdiction and – in a shameless attempt to get people to click his online petition – the majority of the claims he has made about our proposals are utterly false.
“There is simply no way to validate the numbers he is quoting and who the people who clicked his sham petition are or where they live.”
He added: “We have had genuine and productive engagements with the local community in Balloch over the past two years.
“We have spoken and listened to real people, local and national businesses, and other stakeholders about how we can create a world class, sustainable tourist destination that is both fitting for the area and is sympathetic to its important location at the gateway of Loch Lomond.”
