Dumbarton Labour MSP Jackie Baillie and Ross Greer MSP, of the Green Party.
By Lucy Ashton
Green MSP Ross Greer has called on Flamingo Land to “cut their losses and walk away” as the 40,000th public objection to their latest application for a tourist resort at Balloch was lodged.
The company’s first attempt ended in plans being withdrawn in 2019 after nearly 60,000 objections were lodged. Despite a major re-branding and PR operation, the latest set of plans submitted last year have remained highly unpopular both locally and nationally.
The application is currently on hold while the developers address a long list of serious flaws raised by a legal expert commissioned by the Green MSP and by the National Park’s own planning department. Objections can still be lodged during this period of delay and many have submitted via a portal set up by Ross Greer.
Ross Greer commented: “Not content with having a record number of objections against their previous plans, Flamingo Land have now also submitted the second most unpopular planning applications in Scottish history.
“Their proposal for a massive tourist development are simply incompatible with such an iconic location on the shores of Loch Lomond. It will destroy ancient woodland and create congestion chaos for local residents.
“New objections are being lodged every few minutes, and I’d encourage those who haven’t done so already to submit theirs via www.greens.scot/FlamingoLand.”
Jackie Baillie, Dumbarton constituency MSP, said: “While the sheer number of people objecting is sizable, the more interesting observations come from local people who have to live with the development.
“A local survey which I carried out last year showed that the majority of local people were against the plan and, even those who were in favour of the plan, had concerns over the impact on traffic and the road network in the area.
“Local views are the most important in this entire process and must be listened to as the proposals move forward, whether the project is allowed to go ahead or not.”