New plans have been reveal for a massive tourism and leisure development at the southern end of Loch Lomond.

The previous proposals for the West Riverside and Woodbank House sites in Balloch - known as Lomond Banks - were shelved in the face of massive opposition.

Now a 'planning permission in principle' application has been submitted to Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority by Flamingo Land Ltd of Malton in North Yorkshire - and opponents have already voiced their continued alarm.

The plans would include:

  • A leisure, pool, water park and spa
  • Restaurant, cafe and retail areas
  • A craft brewery including a pub
  • A monorail
  • An apart-hotel with 60 bedrooms
  • A budget hotel with up to 32 beds
  • 127 self-catering lodges
  • Restoration of the listed Woodbank House and conversion of its outbuildings to self-catering holiday apartments.

Helensburgh Advertiser:

A 'planning permission in principle' application means the developer doesn't have to submit detailed designs for their project - but the new Lomond Banks application paperwork nonetheless runs to hundreds of pages.

Green MSP Ross Greer led a petition against the previous Flamingo Land plans, which were unveiled in May 2018 and later revised before being withdrawn entirely in September of the following year.

The previous application attracted more than 50,000 objections and was recommended for refusal by National Park planning officials before being scrapped.

Mr Greer, who represents the area as an MSP for the West Scotland region, said: "This is a huge application and it’s going to take us some time to digest the details but it looks like our Save Loch Lomond campaign has scored at least one major win, the preservation of Drumkinnon Woods.

"That being said, the overall scale of the proposals are still the same, with a roughly similar number of lodges and a hotel of exactly the same capacity as last time. This will put huge pressure on local roads and have an obvious impact on residents.

Helensburgh Advertiser:

"Our concerns about continued unobstructed access to the woods for local residents also still stand and the principle of selling off public land to a private developer like this rightly makes many people feel deeply uncomfortable, so these plans are still hugely worrying.

"Flamingo Land have proven themselves totally undeserving of trust, so my team and I will be going over every last detail in all 53 documents associated with the application.

"As always, I am keen to hear from local residents so would encourage anyone with a specific concern to get in touch.”

For more information, and a link to the application paperwork, click here.