Ross Greer MSP slams Flamingo Land exclusive contract extension

At a public hearing in September, the board of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park rejected the Yorkshire theme park operator’s plans for two hotels, a waterpark, a hundred woodland lodges, over 370 parking spaces, a monorail, shops, restaurants and more at Balloch.

The Scottish Greens politician says he has received notice from Scottish Enterprise that they will extend Flamingo Land’s exclusive contract to the land alongside the River Leven and southern shore of Loch Lomond, which makes up a majority of the proposed site. 

This extension allows Flamingo Land to lodge an appeal to the Scottish Government to overturn their application rejection.

The contract gives Flamingo Land the exclusive right to buy the publicly owned land if they secure planning permission.

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Greer expressed his frustration at the situation.

He said: "This ridiculous company just doesn't know when to give up, and it is bitterly disappointing that the Scottish Government are helping them in their attempts to ruin this special corner of Loch Lomond.

“Extending Flamingo Land’s exclusive contract for the land means that an appeal is now all but certain, despite the overwhelming reasons for its rejection in the first place.

“Our campaign to Save Loch Lomond lodged a record 155,000 objections to these daft and destructive mega-resort plans.

"We were joined by experts from the likes of the Woodland Trust, Ramblers and most importantly, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency

"Not only that, the National Park’s own planning officers carefully considered the application and agreed that it must be rejected on the basis of both flood risk and damage to the natural environment.

“Flamingo Land has spent a decade trying to force a mega-resort on Balloch.

"We beat them in 2019 and then again earlier this year. This greedy company just cannot take no for an answer.

"I am incredibly frustrated that the Scottish Government is enabling this saga through an exclusive contract which should have been terminated years ago.

"There are absolutely no grounds to approve the application on appeal.

"We have urged Flamingo Land to accept reality and get round the table to discuss alternatives, but they clearly have no interest in listening to the community.

“The Scottish Greens will continue our campaign and work alongside Balloch residents to ensure that these destructive plans are rejected once again.

"Exhausted as we all are after a decade of this nonsense, we are ready to fight once again to save Loch Lomond.”

Jackie Baillie MSP echoed these sentiments, taking aim at the Scottish Government.

She said: “I am clear that there is significant opposition to this development in the community, for a variety of reasons.

“It is because of the feeling in the community and within the area that I have represented for 25 years, that I asked the First Minister to step in and end Scottish Enterprise’s agreement which ties Flamingo Land to the site.

“Unfortunately, as is often the case with the Scottish Government, these pleas fell on deaf ears.

“I am clear that the majority of the community do not wish this development to go ahead.”

A Scottish Enterprise spokesman said: “Scotland’s statutory planning process is designed to ensure that economic, environmental and community interests are all taken into account when an application is considered. 

"That is why we opted to make any sale of the land at West Riverside subject to planning permission, ensuring that the full range of evidence and views are fully considered. 

“We believe this process should be allowed to run to its conclusion.

"Scottish Enterprise will therefore extend the Conditional Missive with the developer to allow any planning appeal to be considered. 

"We continue our engagement with Balloch and Haldane Community Council around their plans to see how we can support them while this process is ongoing.”