NOTEBOOK BY BILL HEANEY
Some people say you can’t believe anything you read in the papers. Sometimes I can’t believe what I write in the papers, the kind of stuff that spin doctors often pass on to me.
Admittedly there are too many fake news stories and digitally altered photographs.
Even the royal family are at it these days. That hullabaloo at the weekend over the picture of the Princess of Wales and her children to mark Mother’s Day was just that – much ado about nothing.
Closer to home, too close for comfort, we have been fed the news that Flamingoland are pressing ahead with their 21st century plan to replace Balloch with a kitsch version of Brigadoon.
How many times do we have to tell them to fold up their maps and planning proposals and take them back to Yorkshire where they belong.
It has now emerged that Flamingoland aka Lomond Banks have lodged an updated summer transport assessment, highlighting the “minimal impact” on existing roads, alongside supporting upgrades at the Stoneymollan roundabout, pictured below.
Picture by Bill Heaney
They claim to have finalised an agreement with Transport Scotland to address public concerns about the traffic chaos this project would inevitably bring to the gateway to the Bonnie Banks.
The plans have been met with opposition from local groups, including Balloch and Haldane Community Council, who have highlighted a range of concerns – including over the local road network’s ability to cope with a rise in traffic.
Previously MSP Jackie Baillie said: “In the summer—indeed, at any point when the sun comes out—there is regularly gridlock on the A82 at Stoneymollan roundabout.
“The scar this huge development would put on the iconic Loch Lomond landscape in unthinkable. It won’t cancel the impact of cramming holiday lodges on a flood plain or the damage done to existing local businesses.”
A Transport Scotland spokesman said: “As this remains a live planning application, it would be inappropriate for Transport Scotland to comment further at this time.”
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Barr Environmental opened the site, which started out as a disused quarry, a vast hole in the ground filled with water, which farmer Geordie Munn’s cattle occasionally fell into from a great height.
And newspapers got colourful pictures and stories when the Fire Brigade were called out to rescue them.
The company which operates the Auchencarroch landfill site says it will continue to manage “odours” – even after it stops receiving waste this month.
“We have had no calls from SEPA regarding odour for the last month and no calls directly from members of the public.
“Once the site closes to landfill waste we will continue to meet all of our statutory and regulatory testing and reporting obligations concerning the management and maintenance of a landfill site for an aftercare period of a minimum of 30 years.”
Urging anyone with concerns over smells coming from Auchencarroch to report them, a spokeswoman for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is reported to have said: “SEPA continues to receive a small number of infrequent odour complaints from the public regarding Auchencarroch landfill in Alexandria.
“Landfill gas odour is predominantly caused by very small concentrations of trace components which are well below levels which would be identified as a risk to human health.
“Whilst the landfill has been built to legislative standards and holds the relevant authorisations for the activities carried out at the site, the operator has announced publicly their intention to close the site.
“Waste disposal in the landfill ended on January 19, 2024. However the site will continue to receive some waste, for bulking up and disposal at other sites, until March 31 of this year when the operator’s contracts end.
SEPA are said to be working with the operator to finalise plans to undertake permanent capping, which is scheduled to start soon.
Who knows, they might even piggy back on to the controversial wind farm project which could possibly waft the smell away from Loch Lomondside altogether?
In the meantime, we would encourage members of the public who can feel the smell to contact SEPA via the Pollution Hotline 0800 80 70 60 or online at www.sepa.org.uk/report.”
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The curmudgeonly council communications staff still won’t talk to us. In a way this is a badge of honour for The Democrat which has been awarded to us for shining a light into dark corners of the council headquarters in Church Street. They hate their decisions being scrutinised by press and public. And little wonder. It’s time they grew up and accepted that this is what we are here for. We are part of a 21st century democracy which the council spin doctors refuse to accept. Freedom of Speech is not their bag. The Labour and SNP politicians who have foisted all those recent budget cuts on the electorate and want to publicise home improvements rather than rent increases seem content with this scabrous situation. Next time you see a councillor, and it may not be soon, tell them what you think of it.
Top picture: One of the huge lorries which transport human waste into the Auchencarroch Hills. Picture by Bill Heaney