Flamingo Land developers accused of misleading Loch Lomond bid

The people behind proposals for a new development at Loch Lomond are being accused of distorting plans for a Flamingo Land resort.

The Scottish Greens are claiming the developers are "shifting the goalposts" to get support for the £40m park which was rejected by Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park authority board in December.

READ MORE: Flamingo Land proposals 'should not go ahead', report recommends

The rejection came after around 155,000 people lodged objections through a campaign launched by the West of Scotland MSP, who has been vocal on social media against the development.

Other objections came from the Woodland Trust, Ramblers Scotland, the National Trust for Scotland and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa).

But developers at Lomond Banks have launched an appeal to be considered by the Scottish Government in a bid to salvage plans for the theme park, which Mr Greer has dismissed as "desperate".

The MSP said the appeal distorts facts and makes false assertions.

Mr Greer said: "Flamingo Land's appeal is based on distortion and disinformation.

"They are trying to shift the goalposts, bend the truth and misrepresent their own proposals.

"It is a desperate attempt to overturn the unanimous decision by the park board to reject their application.

"Our campaign to save Loch Lomond from Flamingo Land's destructive proposals secured a record 155,000 objections.

"The National Park's own expert planning officers even opposed it, as did Scotland's national environment watchdog, Sepa, and the community council.

"The fact that Flamingo Land have come back with this outright nonsense shows the contempt they have for Balloch and Loch Lomond.

"They have spent a decade trying to exhaust the community into submission, but they have lost at every step. I urge the Scottish Government to reject these catastrophic plans and end this sorry saga."

There is currently a Flamingo Land resort near Malton, North Yorkshire, which offers holiday packages, a zoo, and theme park rides.

READ MORE: Decision day for Flamingo Land plans at Loch Lomond

Its proposed sister park in Loch Lomond would boast two hotels, a waterpark, more than 100 woodland lodges, 370 parking spaces, a monorail, shops and restaurants.

It has been anticipated the site would result in around 250 additional car journeys per hour on roads in the surrounding area during peak times.

The Scottish Greens said Flamingo Land has claimed Loch Lomond National Park could have insisted the scale of its application should be reduced.

However, the Greens said it is Flamingo Land's responsibility to reduce the size of the application, noting it has not done so in its almost decade-long fight to build the resort.

The party has accused developers of trying to use national planning framework policies in their favour, which Greens said do not apply because it is a tourist resort, not a housing development.

A number of flooding concerns have also raised in connection with the development of the park, which the Greens accused park bosses of attempting to claim exemption from.

Developers Lomond Banks and the Scottish Government have been contacted for comment.

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