Campaigners confident their 'voices will be heard' in Flamingo Land's Loch Lomond resort appeal

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Campaigners who successfully fought plans for a £40million resort on the banks of Loch Lomond are confident their voices will prevail after the developer lodged an appeal.Theme park operator Flamingo Land had hoped to build the tourist attraction at West Riverside, in Balloch, but those plans were booted out by Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park authority last September.However, Flamingo Land bosses last month confirmed they have lodged an appeal against that refusal with the Scottish Government.The bid, which included two hotels, hundreds of lodges and parking spaces, shops, eateries and a monorail, was deemed too large and environmentally damaging for the area by members of the park's planning board.Local campaigners, who have spent years fighting the proposals, are confident the recent efforts of Balloch and Haldane Community Council (BHCC) and the newly established Loch Lomond South Community Development Trust (LLSCDT) means the Scottish Government will find it hard to ignore the community voice.BHCC chairwoman Lynne Somerville said: “ We have it on strong grounds from our legal representative and planning expert, Ian Cowan, appointed by the Green Party on the back of the public crowdfunding, that the developer is wasting everyone’s time. "We seriously doubt the appeal will be successful as it contradicts multiple Scottish Government policies and National Park objectives.”She added: “The communities of Balloch and Haldane must be afforded the same rights as every other community across Scotland, per the 2015 Community Empowerment Act.“As it stands, the exclusivity agreement that is in place with the developer means our communities are being unfairly discriminated against to satisfy a commercial agreement