Loch Lomond Flamingo Land resort plan rejected by park authority

A arguable connection to physique a vacation edifice connected the banks of Loch Lomond has been rejected by the nationalist parkland authority.

Theme parkland relation Flamingo Land wanted to physique a £40m edifice - including a monorail, waterpark, edifice and restaurants - connected the onshore since 2018.

The connection sparked section opposition, with much than 174,000 radical objecting to the plans owed to factors specified arsenic flood risk, further postulation and interaction connected businesses.

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) committee voted against the plans pursuing a sojourn to the site.

More than 100 radical gathered astatine Lomond Parish Church successful Balloch to perceive the decision, portion earlier protestors gathered astatine the tract itself.

Stuart Pearce, 'director of place' for the LLTNPA, said the connection created "unacceptable risk" of flooding of the River Leven.

And assemblage assembly representatives told the gathering they were "fatigued" by the long-running statement implicit the land.

Lynne Somerville, of Balloch and Haldane Community Council said the improvement would "go against the precise volition of the radical who unrecorded successful the area" and that it would person a detrimental effect connected section businesses.

Ross Greer, the Scottish Green MSP who was a long-standing professional of the plan, said the improvement would airs a hazard to the section system and that much than fractional of the jobs created would not beryllium afloat clip workers.

At the meeting, the developers said they were amazed that the standard of section concern had been described arsenic “minor”.

Flamingo Land typical Fiona Robertson insisted it would person created a “significant” magnitude of economical maturation and jobs.

Those successful enactment of the improvement included Rev Ian Miller, the interim moderator astatine Lomond Parish Church of Scotland, who said that "if determination is immoderate summation successful employment, I've got to ballot for it for their sake."

The parkland authorization previously recommended rejecting the plan, expressing interest implicit flood risks and the interaction connected the surrounding environment.

A 188-page study into the improvement stated that removing trees and woodland without planting to marque up for the nonaccomplishment of foliage would neglect to present the “significant biodiversity enhancements” needed for the National Parks’ effect to clime concerns.

Environmental watchdog the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) was among those to entity to the proposals earlier successful the year, citing flood risks.

Earlier this year, West Dunbartonshire Council did not reason oregon enactment the Lomond Banks development, which angered opponents of the plan.

Flamingo Land archetypal submitted plans for the tract successful 2018, but retreat them the pursuing twelvemonth aft a question of antagonistic reaction.

It submitted updated plans successful 2020, insisting the connection would not beryllium a taxable parkland and would beryllium a "major measurement away" from their different resorts, including a taxable parkland and zoo successful Yorkshire.

That did not person immoderate locals, who told BBC Scotland News earlier this year that if the connection went up it would beryllium a "living hell" for radical surviving successful the area.