Flamingo Land’s £40m plans for Loch Lomond have been backed by the charity running the Maid of the Loch steamer.
Nearly 32,000 people have objected to the revised plans a tourism resort, but the team behind Lomond Banks says it is still ‘encouraged by community support’.
A video has been released today which includes supporting statements by chair of the Maid of the Loch charity Ian Robertson, as well as former church minister Ian Miller.
Mr Robertson said: “The board of trustees have met, and we believe that this new application answers many of the questions that were raised the last time this project looked to get off the ground.
“As a board we have considered it carefully and believe that the Lomond Banks’ concept fits both with the local area and what the Maid of the Loch is trying to achieve.
“In an area that has lost so many jobs over the years, it is important that local people benefit from a successful development that complements the wider area and we believe that the proposed Lomond Banks plans will do just that.
“We hope that if successful, the developers will work with both us and other local businesses in making Balloch a place that people want to visit, stay and spend money in.”
The plans include hotels with a total of 92 beds, up to 127 self-catering lodges, a monorail and 15 self-catering apartments.
There have been 316 individual objections to Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority, with 25 comments in support, but an online petition organised by MSP Ross Greer now has 31,700 names.
Flamingo Land says the campaign is ‘based on various unfounded claims’, and Rev Miller said people should look at the plans and form their own opinions.
“This area has been crying out for inward investment for too long and, as a member of the community council, I know we are desperate for this to happen,” he said.
“The plans proposed by Flamingo Land have been dogged by falsehoods and lies throughout the process, both in 2018 and now, including the misinformation that it would be a theme park. Lomond Banks was never going to be a theme park back in 2018 and again it certainly isn’t now.
“All I ask of my fellow neighbours and those in the wider area, is to seek out the plans, ask questions of the developers and make up your own mind. For me, I do believe that Lomond Banks will be both eco-friendly and complement the local area, providing a development that we can all be proud of for generations to come.”
Full details of the plans are available on the national park authority website – the reference number is 2022/0157/PPP .
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