In 2018, Flamingo Land Ltd, a theme park operator from Yorkshire, put forward the idea to build a £40mn resort on the iconic banks of Loch Lomond. Called the ‘Lomond Banks’ development, it proposed building a mega resort on Scotland’s most iconic shoreline which would include two hotels and more than 100 lodges, a waterpark and a monorail. Their pitch predicted significant economic investment which would generate up to 200 jobs.
The story so far
This proposal has encountered fierce opposition, first from the village of Balloch, then from the south-west shore of the loch and then more widely across Scotland. Such is the strength of feeling about this development that opposition has even been received from overseas.
In September 2024, the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority announced at a packed public meeting held at Lomond Parish Church that they were rejecting the proposal unanimously. Ross Greer, the local Scottish Green MSP who had galvanised local opinion against the development, said at the time he was delighted with the decision.
“This is a huge victory for my Balloch constituents and for our long-running campaign to save Loch Lomond. Residents have been united against this daft plan from the start, stepping up to defend one of Scotland’s iconic landscapes. After almost a decade, this is a result the community and campaigners deserve.”
Greer said, “The single biggest issue people had was the sheer scale of the development. Local residents are already struggling with visitor numbers and there is acute concern from local independent businesses that they would be displaced”.
The Scottish Labour Deputy Leader Jackie Baillie told the board she was, “not convinced the economic benefit outweighs the environmental impact”.
The Scottish Greens helped organise online objections to the development and more than 155,000 objections to this planning application were raised. This is more than any other planning application in the UK.
We thought the story had reached a conclusion as the proposal was defeated by local people and their local political representatives.
Flamingo Land update – 24 January 2025
Flamingo Land Ltd submitted an appeal to the Scottish Government’s Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) following the decision by the National Park Authority Board on 16 September 2024 to refuse the application for Lomond Banks’ mixed-use tourism and leisure development.
Jim Paterson, development director for Lomond Banks said:
“We have submitted our appeal for our Lomond Banks development to the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) in line with the timings outlined to us via a letter from Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park.
“In socioeconomic terms, the level of financial investment and jobs together with the consideration and conservation of the natural environment, offers a notable boost and we have been urged by members of the local community to drive forward with the appeal in the hope that the many benefits this development would bring can be unlocked and brought to fruition.”
Despite multiple attempts to contact Flamingo Land, the company did not respond or comment.
Ross Greer MSP has launched a crowdfunder initiative to fight the appeal. He said: “They are trying to wear us down, using their deep pockets to exhaust our community-led campaign. Chip in to our crowdfunder now to prove them wrong.”
Bylines Scotland is committed to following this important story to keep you up to date on what could turn out to be a landmark struggle for future developments in iconic Scottish landscapes.
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