A LEADING Scottish Green campaigner against Flamingo Land’s Loch Lomond development proposals insists he won’t be staying silent on future plans for the area – despite his party agreeing a power-sharing deal with the SNP.

Ross Greer was speaking after constituency MSP Jackie Baillie suggested the Greens might be bound by “collective responsiblity” on planning matters – and therefore might not oppose a planning application for the West Riverside and Woodbank House sites.

Flamingo Land has lodged a “proposal of application notice” for the sites with the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority though a formal application is not expected until later in the year or early in 2022.

Ms Baillie raised the topic in the Scottish Parliament last week after the appointment of Scottish Green co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater to ministerial roles in the Scottish Government’s cabinet.

Ms Baillie said: “We are faced with a new planning application from Flamingo Land, which was rejected by the local community and the National Park last time around.

"The Greens opposed the planning application, as did I, but I am concerned that their hands may be tied because of their coalition with the SNP in government, should the application be called in by ministers.

“I hope that it won’t come to this, but there is a real possibility that Green ministers might be overruled by the SNP Scottish Government and local views will get trampled underfoot.”

Ross Greer MSP, who insists as he is not a minister he is not bound by “collective responsibility”, replied: “I can reassure Jackie Baillie and my constituents that the Scottish Greens will continue to lead the campaign against Flamingo Land.

“The cooperation agreement has absolutely no effect on my ability to do so, as Jackie well knows.

"This contrived story feels like an attempt to distract from the fact that what’s left of the local Labour party have done absolutely nothing to help the community see off these plans.

“In comparison, the Greens have organised poster campaigns, brought the issue to the attention of national media and fundraised to hire the environmental lawyer whose advice was key to our success in defeating the first application.”

Flamingo Land’s original plans for the site attracted more than 50,000 objections, and were withdrawn by the company in September 2019 after officials from the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority recommended that the application be refused.