Smack bang in the middle of the sprawling Trossachs National Park, Scotland’s Loch Lomond really is a natural wonder. Surrounded by rolling countryside, craggy hills and woodland brimming with wildlife, still today the lake remains relatively unspoiled by human interference.
The last thing you’d want to build on the untouched banks of Loch Lomond is – *clears throat* – a brewery, a waterpark, a water sports complex, a monorail, a hotel with 100 or so lodges, and a whole host of other man-made shite. But this is exactly what the leisure resort company Flamingo Land is hoping to do, specifically in the village of Balloch, on the loch’s southern shores.
The proposed development project has been deemed ‘the most unpopular in Scottish history’, with more than 64,000 people signing a petition against the plans.
While the developers have scrapped plans to build on ancient woodland at Drumkinnon Wood, campaigners say that the updated plans would still lead to a huge amount of environmenally destructive construction work.
West Scotland Green MSP Ross Greer, who has fought the good fight against similar proposals from Flamingo Land at various points over the past seven years, said: ‘If the weight of expert opinion from the likes of the Woodland Trust and National Trust for Scotland isn’t enough to force Flamingo Land into walking away, then it is for the national park’s board to do the right thing and reject their plans entirely.
Greer has no plans to back down. ‘Flamingo Land’s mega resort plans have no place at Balloch,’ he added. ‘I will continue to campaign with this army of objectors until our corner of Loch Lomond is safe. Together, we’ll beat them for good this time.’
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