Greens criticise ‘anti-democratic’ decision to approve Flamingo Land resort at Loch Lomond

The Scottish Greens have accused the Scottish Government of being “anti-democratic” after it looks set to approve plans for a Flamingo Land resort at Loch Lomond which had been rejected by the national park’s board.

Lomond Banks, owned by Flamingo Land, has lodged several planning applications to develop a site on the banks of the famous loch in recent years, but has been faced with significant local opposition.

Objections to the latest application, which was rejected by the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park last September, were also lodged by the National Trust for Scotland, Woodland Trust and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

And a campaign by MSP Ross Greer, who represents the West Scotland region, collected over 150,000 signatures objecting to the plan.

The developers appealed the decision to the government’s Planning And Environmental Appeals Division in December.

Now, in a letter to Greer and other stakeholders, the government department has confirmed it will overturn the decision and grant permission for the resort.

It gives the green light to a new £40m resort being built, including a monorail, waterpark, hotel and restaurants.

Jim Paterson, development director of Lomond Banks, said the decision was a “real milestone moment”. He added: “We are delighted by the decision made by the Scottish Government reporter today. As we look beyond today’s decision, we remain committed to being a strong and valued contributor to the local economy and we look forward to progressing with our proposals as we now consider detailed planning.”

The proposal had been rejected due to concerns over flood risk, increased traffic in the area and a detrimental impact on local businesses. The national park board also said it did not comply with conservation policies covering the area.

Responding to the latest news, Greer accused government officials of putting Flamingo Land’s interests “above the need to protect” the area.

He said: “This is an anti-democratic outrage. I cannot believe that Flamingo Land’s destructive and immensely unpopular mega-resort is being given the go-ahead by government officials. It was the most unpopular planning application in Scottish history and will cause irreversible damage to the world-famous local environment at Loch Lomond.”

The MSP has pledged to continue campaigning to stop the development.

Planning permission is subject to legal agreement being reached, with a final decision due in November.