20 May 2025
by Louise Wilson of Holyrood Magazine
Public finance minister Ivan McKee confirmed the government does not intend to call in the application | SPTVThe Scottish Government will not intervene to stop a controversial development on the banks of Loch Lomond, a minister has confirmed.
A report from the government’s Planning and Environmental Appeals Division confirmed it was allowing the appeal lodged by Lomond Banks, which challenges a decision made by the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority last year.
It could give the green light to a new £40 million resort, including a monorail, waterpark, hotel and restaurants.
Flamingo Land-owned Lomond Banks has lodged several planning applications to develop the site in recent years but has been faced with significant local opposition.
Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park authority board unanimously rejected the development last September, ruling it did not comply with environmental policies.
Public finance minister Ivan McKee said following consideration of the evidence, a planning reporter had issued a notice of intention to allow the appeal and grant planning permission in principle.
Members of the Loch Lomond National Park planning committee said No to Flamingo Land last year. Picture by Bill Heaney
This will be subject to 49 planning conditions and a legal agreement being put in place.
McKee added: “Given the very technical planning issues raised in this case and the high level of public interest, I consider it appropriate that objective planning judgement is applied in this case, and for that reason I do not intend to recall this appeal.”
By law, ministers have the power to call in planning applications and take the decision themselves.
Green MSP Ross Greer, who has long campaigned against the development, said he was “incredibly disappointed” that the minister did not intend to call in the application.
Dumbarton MSP Dame Jackie Baillie and Green MSP Ross Greer.
He urged McKee to “reject this mega-resort”, adding that not to do so would mean the “profits of a theme park operator are put ahead of Scotland’s national interest and world-famous natural environment”.
The campaign led by Greer collected over 150,000 signatures. Objections to the latest application were also lodged by the National Trust for Scotland, Woodland Trust and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa).
Labour’s Jackie Baillie backed Greer’s request for ministers to call in the application, adding: “The Reporter’s decision does fly in the face of expert evidence, the unanimous decision of the national park, the view of Sepa, and indeed the overwhelming majority of local people.”
Councillor Jim Bollan, of the Community Party, said: “The SNP will suffer locally at the ballot box for this.”
The SNP will suffer locally at the ballot box for this.
And so they should suffer at the ballot box but will that make any difference.
But money talks and big money is talking here. Flamingo Land have pursued this for ten years. They are the sole property developer in this utterly outrageous decision against democratic process. And of course the deal to dispose of public land to a private company is, surprise surprise, a commercial secret.
Brown envelopes, no, not never, that doesn’t happen on Scotland? Aye right, this stinks, and it is not at all unreasonable to suspect that some troughers are getting the proverbial weigh in. But democracy doesn’t exist. Like in Orwell’s Animal Farm the poor beasts can only look in the window to see the Pigs and Men connive in how much money they can extract. And make no mistake the local people here are the figurative Orwellian poor beasts. Their area will be swamped by this development – but the men and the pigs have decided.
But at the end of the day what can the poor beasts do?