Plan to veto ‘blingy blingy banks of Loch Lomond’ theme park

The proposals include lodges, a boutique hotel, hostel and glamping pods along with unspecified “family-based attractions”, which Scottish Enterprise says will create jobs and boost tourism in the area.

An online petition to oppose the move and stand against the “commercialisation of a national gem for future generations” subsequently attracted more than 22,000 signatures.

In the wake of the response, the head of Scotland’s first national park vowed that any ‘inappropriate’ development will be vetoed.

Gordon Watson, chief executive of Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA), which as planning authority has the power of veto, told the Sunday Herald: "We can obviously assess a development and if we feel it is not appropriate, doesn’t fit in for whatever reason, or there is environmental issues, then obviously we have the power to refuse planning permission.”

Watson said a planning application or detailed proposals had yet to be submitted for the Flamingo Land development, so the authority was "reserving its position" to see if the plans are acceptable or not.

He added: “But what we do know it is not going be a rollercoaster or amusement kind of things – we would certainly never support something like that.”

Helen Todd, campaigns and policy manager at Ramblers Scotland, said the number of people who had signed the petition emphasised the "widespread belief" that national parks must be protected from inappropriate development.

She added: “We await more details, but, on the face of it, these sound like surprising plans for a site that is such a valuable gateway to the natural beauty of Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park.

“We hope any plans will lead to the site being sustainably developed in a manner that reflects the importance of the national park to walkers and other recreational users.”

The announcement on Flamingo Land was said to have followed a successful planning ‘charrette’ – an intense planning and consultation session – held in Balloch earlier this year, which aimed to involve the local community in future development of the area.

Balloch and Haldane Community Council said it had not been contacted regarding the development and had little idea of what the plans were, but would keep an open mind until more is known.

However Nick Kempe, a mountaineering campaigner who authors the blog parkswatchscotland, said the development was going to potentially “trash the area”.

He said: “Instead of thinking about a low-key development which might get some local businesses and enterprises going, they have appointed a theme park operator from the south.”

Kempe also questioned how the proposed development would impact on local businesses in the area, such as boat hire operators.

This is the latest controversy to hit the park following an outcry over the introduction of new bylaws to introduce designated camping zones and a camping permits system for the most popular sites in the park, which will come into force in March next year.

The park authority says it has not yet been decided if charges will be made for permits, but insist any will be “minimal”.

However Kempe said the camping bylaws and other new measures such as charging for car parking raised issues over "commercialisation" of the park.

“There are a lot of people from Glasgow who haven’t got much money – the park should be a place where people can just come out and take exercise and enjoy the countryside," he said. “It is like all of this is being commercialised and sorting out who can actually go there.”

Leading outdoor writer and broadcaster Cameron McNeish, who has criticised the camping bylaws as “draconian” said he was not aware of the details of the Flamingo Land plan. But he added: “Even just the very sound of it, it seems not to be compatible with National Park status.

“The Loch Lomond National Park is just a bloody mess.”

But Watson maintained the camping bylaws were aimed at conserving the park and most of the authority's budget was spent on promoting access, such as a £3million project to improve and conserve popular mountain paths.

He added: “We want people to enjoy the outdoors – at the moment we charge for very few of our car parks, there is only a small handful at our busiest sites and we charge very low charges.

"Introducing in a small number of car parks some charges is really giving us a little bit back to help us look after the place that people are coming to enjoy.

“I think we have done very well to keep as many of our facilities free of charge up until now.

"We are trying to find ways to reduce the pressure on the public purse."

The chief executive of Flamingo Land, Gordon Gibb, has said that if the plans "were not welcomed by most of the people in Scotland then we will not proceed further."