A PETITION supported by 13,000 people has been presented to the Scottish Government calling for the termination of an ‘exclusivity agreement’ with Flamingo Land for the development of a site near Loch Lomond.
Despite the withdrawal of the resort company’s plans for a major tourism development on the West Riverside and Woodbank House site in October 2019, the company still holds the exclusive rights to develop the land as a result of a deal struck with government agency Scottish Enterprise.
Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer, who represents the West Scotland region, including Balloch and Loch Lomond, said the situation was “a long-running saga which has exhausted the community and needs to end”.
Mr Greer, whose campaigning led to more than 57,000 of the eventual 60,000 objections being lodged against the original plan, has been collecting signatures for a petition calling for the exclusivity agreement to be brought to an end.
The petition has attracted nearly 13,000 signatures and Mr Greer has now written to Fiona Hyslop, the Scottish Government’s economy secretary, urging her to ensure the agreement with Flamingo Land is not renewed.
Mr Greer said: “It’s over a year since the community first defeated Flamingo Land’s destructive and unwelcome plans and we still don’t know whether a line can finally be drawn under this or if it will start all over again with a fresh application.
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“This long-running saga has exhausted the community and it needs to end.
“Flamingo Land lost, they are not welcome, and they need to move on.
“Whether or not that happens is ultimately in the hands of the Scottish Government and their economic agency.
“They can either extend the agreement, again, which would likely mean years of Flamingo Land fighting for an inappropriate, damaging and unwanted development, and the community being forced to once again fight back.
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“Or they can cancel the exclusivity agreement and support local residents to decide what an appropriate future for the site would be.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson told the Advertiser: “Scottish Enterprise is currently bound by the terms of the exclusivity agreement.
“It will continue to work with local residents, the wider community and regional partners to achieve the best possible outcome for the site going forward.”
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