FLAMINGO LAND PLANS: TIME TO SAY GOODBYE TO USELESS SCOTTISH ENTERPRISE

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Councillors voted in favour of Flamingo Land plans for Loch Lomond

Artist’s impression of the Lomond Banks proposal led by Flamingo Land.

NOTEBOOK by BILL HEANEY

Scottish Enterprise bosses should F-off and crawl back into the currupt, stinking hole they first crawled out of.
If you think that’s a bit strong then consider the £millions of public money they have squandered and the valuable time they have wasted over a long number of years. Being polite has never attracted their attention.
Scottish Enterprise was set up to bring prosperity, industry and employment not just to West Dunbartonshire but to the whole of Scotland.
But what have they achieved?
You only have to look around you to measure their success. West Dunbartonshire, to use a good old fashioned Scottish word, is a coup. A dump in which residents are deprived and dissatisfied.
Flamingo Land is the latest bourach to come our way.
That shambles is far from the first of a series of disasters. Their very expensive spin doctors told us their previous attempts to do something for us were commendable. They even set up their own office here and called it Dunbartonshire Enterprise.
But that fell flat on its backside, and it shut down as many other of their so-called initiatives have died on us, stupid things like the Titan Crane in Clydebank and the Sandy Stoddart sculpture at Stoneymollan roundabout on the A82.
These things don’t just cost money, they cost lives. People died for Stoneymollan roundabout and still more people have died for the badly planned Lomondgate roundabout.
And now we have this, detailed in an exclusive story in this morning’s Sunday Mail:

Bosses at Loch Lomond national park privately slammed the Scottish Government’s handling of a controversial Flamingo Land planning application at the beauty spot.

In a series of furious letters to top officials obtained by the Sunday Mail, senior park figures including Chief Executive Gordon Watson raised “significant concerns” over a “very unusual” process set out to settle the case.
Watson also accused the government of questioning the professionalism of his senior managers.It comes after the national park previously rejected Flamingo Land’s £43.5million bid for a large resort including hotels, a water park and over 100 woodland chalets on the shores of the Bonnie Banks in Balloch. Campaigners now fear SNP ministers are preparing a “stich-up” to green-light the 46-acre development on appeal despite long standing local opposition.
Ross Greer joined campaigners outside the Scottish Parliament to oppose Flamingo Land’s resort plan

Ross Greer joined campaigners outside the Scottish Parliament to oppose Flamingo Land’s resort plan.

We can reveal park chief exec Watson wrote to Scotland’s chief planner in July to let rip at the government’s appeal process, saying it had been handled “in contradiction with the principles of fairness and natural justice”.

In scathing correspondence obtained through freedom of information, Watson wrote: “The very unusual nature of the processes now being adopted to determine this appeal have left me with no option but to write to you outlining my significant concerns.”

“In particular, the National Park Authority considers that in the interests of fairness and natural justice a different Reporter should be appointed to consider this appeal afresh.”leaked letter flamingo land

Leaked letters above show park bosses’ anger at Scottish Government.

Reporter David Buylla is overseeing the case despite being the same official who overturned the national park’s original decision.

Watson added that Buylla’s original report advising ministers to green-light the resort amounted to “explicit support” for the development and was “fundamentally flawed”.

Gordon Watson, CEO, of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park

Gordon Watson, CEO, of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.

In a second letter to the government in August, national park board convener Dr Heather Reid said officials had failed to respond to Watson’s concerns.

Dr Reid, pictured right in this picture with Gordon Watson and Lorna Slater MSP,  who chaired the six-hour public meeting in Balloch last September where board members unanimously rejected the Flamingo Land resort, told of the park’s “disappointment and surprise” at the government’s conduct.

She wrote: “Integrity, fairness and transparency were the basis of my approach… the board reasonably expects that the same values be reflected in the handling of the appeal.

“Members of the Board consider that the reputation of the planning system in Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, and National Parks more widely, is clearly at risk.”

We previously told how correspondence from lawyers warning the government’s “unorthodox” appeal process may be “unlawful” was deleted from a government website.

The Scottish Government said: “Ministers decided to recall the Lomond Banks appeal as the proposed development raises issues of national significance in view of its potential impact on Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.

“As this is a live planning appeal it would not be appropriate to comment further.”

Greens co-leader Ross Greer, who has led campaigning against the resort, said: “This whole process frankly stinks. How can the Scottish Government expect any of us to have confidence in the outcome when they refuse to answer serious questions about how they are handling it?

“It was a bizarre decision to let the same official who approved Flamingo Land in the first place effectively mark his own homework.

“When I raised the same concerns as National Park officers I was told that I wouldn’t even get a response until after the process had concluded. How can we be expected to have any confidence in the final decision when it’s being handled like this?”

Top of page picture: The meeting in Alexandria at which the Park Authority said No to permission for the Flamingo Land project.

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So, when are public bodies going to listen to the people. They have plenty to say themselves but – like West Dunbartonshire Council – put their hands over their ears. This is neither demoratic not diplomatic. It’s time things changed around here. Bill Heaney

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