Scottish Government urged to ignore ‘hysteria' around Loch Lomond proposals
Lomond Banks – owned by theme park operator Flamingo Land – has proposed to build a multi-million-pound mega-park.
It includes plans for a water park, two hotels, 104 wooden lodges, spa, cafes, shops, restaurants, brewery and more in Balloch, West Dunbartonshire.
In May, the Scottish Government Reporter approved the plans – allowing them to go on to the next stage of planning and development – despite opposition from the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority itself and more than 150,000 people who joined the Save Loch Lomond campaign.
The Scottish Government initially said it had 'no intention' of stepping in to re-evaluate that approval, but Scottish ministers U-turned last week, once again putting the Flamingo Land plans in doubt.
On Monday, speaking for the first time since that decision, Lomond Banks development director Jim Paterson said the firm was 'extremely disappointed'.
'We have engaged with the planning process in good faith, following every regulation and expectation set by the National Park and Scotland's new national planning framework,' he said.
'The land in question has been allocated for sustainable tourism development for decades, a fact acknowledged by the DPEA (Planning and Environmental Appeals Division) reporter.
'To have this long-established planning context disregarded at the 11th hour raises serious questions not only about the integrity and consistency of the Scottish planning system, but also about Scotland as an investment destination.'
'That's why Mr Paterson called on ministers to back the Flamingo Land proposals.
'We now call on all ministers, especially the planning minister, to uphold the integrity of the planning system,' he said.
'This process must remain impartial and evidence-led, not subjected to political opportunism or pressure campaigns built on misinformation. The rules must apply fairly and equally to all, or public trust in the system will be irreparably damaged.'
Mr Paterson added: 'We urge the Scottish Government to see through the hysteria and consider not just the facts of this proposal, but the precedent it sets for all future investment in Scotland.'
Mr Paterson accused opponents of the development – spearheaded by Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer – of a 'sensationalist and misleading campaign' full of 'mistruths and inaccuracies'.
More than 150,000 people signed a petition to halt the plans, and 50,000 wrote to the Scottish Government to intervene, but Mr Paterson claimed the project has 'strong local support'.
'Anyone genuinely interested in the views of the Scottish people need only look at the widespread positive engagement on social media and elsewhere, reflecting a clear desire for sustainable, year-round economic activity and job creation,' he said.
Public finance minister Ivan McKee said last week the government would recall the plans for the Flamingo Land resort, saying it raises issues of national significance due to its impact on the national park area.
Over 150,000 people objected to the development through a petition launched by the Scottish Greens.
The final outcome will be now be decided by Scottish ministers.
Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Record
40 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Four arrested after Trump protests across Scotland and UKIP rally
Police Scotland have confirmed that officers took action at various events across the country on Saturday and a number of people were arrested. At least four people have been arrested following a day of mass protests across Scotland. Scots turned out in force to demonstrate against Donald Trump 's visit to the country in both Aberdeen and Edinburgh, while in Glasgow a march organised by UK Independence Party (UKIP),calling for 'mass deportations' was met by hundreds of counter protesters. Police Scotland have confirmed that officers took action at various events across the country on Saturday, July 26. In Aberdeen, an 18-year-old man was arrested in connection with a number of outstanding warrants and will appear at court at a later date. While 56-year-old man will be subject of a report to the Procurator Fiscal following an alleged assault in Aberdeen city centre. In Glasgow, a 49-year-old woman was arrested in connection with an alleged obstruction of the police following an incident in George Square. A report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal. A 50-year-old woman was issued with a Recorded Police Warning in connection with alleged threatening behaviour in Regent Terrace, Edinburgh. Trump arrived in Scotland on Friday and took to his Turnberry golf course on the first full day of his visit. Hundreds gathered in both Edinburgh and Aberdeen – near the site of the US President's other Scottish golf resort – to make their opposition to the president known. A major security operation surrounded him, with police officers and military personnel seen scouring the grounds ahead of Mr Trump teeing off. Sniffer dogs were seen patrolling the golf course in Ayrshire, with the Navy carrying out sweeps in the water beside the seaside course, while Army vehicles were spotted on the nearby A77 road. Police Scotland has asked for support from other forces across the UK to bolster officer numbers for the high profile visit – with Mr Swinney appealing to people to protest 'peacefully and within the law'. In Glasgow, protestors came together on Buchanan Street to oppose a rally organised by UKIP. In a post announcing the march, UKIP said the demonstration would 'send a message to Holyrood that we are taking our country back,' adding: 'the people of Glasgow demand mass-deportations.' UKIP estimated 200 would attend the march through the city centre. The counter protest, attended by trade unionists, faith organisations, and other anti-racist and anti-fascists, was organised by Stand Up to Racism Scotland. Sharing a video of the demo to social media, they said: 'Hundreds of anti-fascists and anti-racists from the trade unions, community and faith organisations have answered the call to say that fascists "shall not pass" in Glasgow.'
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
'Hypocrite' John Swinney hands £180k golf sweetener to Trump as storm rages over the First Minister 'whipping up' anti-Trump protests
John Swinney is at the centre of a major hypocrisy row after he pledged a donation of £180,000 of public cash for a golf tournament at one of Donald Trump's Scottish courses. The First Minister was accused of offering the 'cynical sweetener' to the US President just days after he was roundly criticised for 'whipping up' anti-Trump protests ahead of his four-day trip to Scotland. Mr Swinney – who has called for Mr Trump's State visit to the UK in September to be cancelled – told activists hoping to disrupt the President's trip to 'do Scotland proud' and 'demonstrate lawfully'. However, on Saturday – as Mr Swinney prepared to meet with the President – the Scottish Government rushed out an announcement of funding for a showpiece golf event at one of Mr Trump's courses in Aberdeenshire. One source told MailOnline: 'The Scottish Government was alarmed at the way Mr Swinney's comments on protests were portrayed, and were desperate to achieve a positive narrative before the two meet.' The last-minute cash injection is for the 2025 Nexo Championship which takes place at the Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire between August 7-10. MailOnline understands the funding announcement for the DP World Tour event was due to be made on Tuesday, but was brought forward to distract the White House from Mr Swinney's protest comments. Critics warned the First Minister to 'start acting like a grown-up in his dealings with the President'. The President of the United States was spotted enjoying a game of golf at Turnberry on Saturday Tory MSP Murdo Fraser said: ' John Swinney 's disgracefully condemned President Trump's State visit, and then talked up protests while claiming to welcome him to Scotland. 'Now he's announced that his government is giving money to a golf course owned by the President. 'That rare support for tourism from the SNP is welcome, but many will see it as a hypocritical and cynical sweetener. 'The First Minister must start acting like a grown-up in his dealings with the President and advance Scotland's interests rather than trying to appease the childish hostility of his own supporters.' The row comes as: - Mr Trump was spotted enjoying a round of golf at his Turnberry course in Ayrshire on Saturday. - Sir Keir Starmer is hoping to discuss trade, a ceasefire in Gaza and the war in Ukraine in a meeting with the President on Monday. - Major anti-Trump protests took place in Aberdeen and Edinburgh with officers from other forces brought in to help Police Scotland. Referencing the £180,000 boost, Mr Swinney said: 'The Scottish Government recognises the benefits of golf and golf events, including boosting tourism and our economy. 'As the home of golf, we have a long-standing track record of support and I am proud this funding will further enhance Aberdeenshire's reputation as a leading golfing destination.' A Scottish Government spokesman added: 'With the eyes of the world on Scotland, this funding was announced to further raise the profile of Aberdeenshire.' The announcement comes as Mr Swinney's team are said to have been 'alarmed' after his protest comments were 'misinterpreted'. The SNP leader was accused of 'playing to the gallery' by claiming Mr Trump's visit gave Scotland 'a platform to make its voice heard on war and peace, justice and democracy'. On Thursday he said: 'I am confident the vast majority of people protesting will do Scotland proud and demonstrate as they should – peacefully and lawfully.' The Scottish Police Federation (SPF), which represents rank and file officers, blasted Mr Swinney for 'appearing to welcome protest', while the Scottish Conservatives said Mr Swinney should 'not engage in this dog-whistle attempt at whipping up protest'. SPF general secretary David Kennedy said: 'It is important to remember that it will fall to Scotland's under-resourced officers to maintain peace throughout this high-profile event.' A huge security operation is in place to keep Mr Trump safe with almost a third of Police Scotland's manpower deployed to the task. Mr Swinney's olive branch comes despite his previous robust criticism of the US President. After Mr Trump clashed with Ukraine's President Zelensky in February, the First Minister urged the UK Government to cancel the State visit later this year. But after landing Airport on Friday, President Trump appeared unfazed by Mr Swinney's views. He said: 'I have a lot of love [for Scotland], my mother was born in Scotland. The Scottish leader's a good man and I look forward to meeting him.' Mr Swinney has pledged to use his meeting with Mr Trump in the coming days as an opportunity to 'speak out for Scotland' on international issues such as Gaza, as well as promoting Scotland's trading links with the United States. The Prime Minister, meanwhile, will use his talks with Mr Trump to seek to build on the new trade deal agreed with the USA in May. The MoS understands he will also discuss a ceasefire in Gaza and the war in Ukraine. Mr Trump said his talks with Sir Keir will be a 'celebration' of the US/UK trade deal. He said: 'We are going to have a good time, the Prime Minister and I get along very well.'
The National
3 hours ago
- The National
Why didn't the SNP act when they had power in the UK?
As I have said many times in these pages and to SNP leadership, when we had a majority of SNP MPs at Westminster, and were the third-biggest party there, that if the FM spent less time strutting around like a world leader, distracting from the job at hand, and allowed the SNP group at Westminster to actually do their job, we could have had either independence or another referendum by now. As I said, in my simplistic view: 1. In 1707, it was Scottish parliamentarians who voted to unionise with England, not through a referendum or public opinion which was very much against it at the time. 2. The [[SNP]] in 2011 achieved what was meant to be improbable, due to the way the proportional representation system was set up at [[Holyrood]], and won a majority. Independence polling was in the low 30% at the time and [[Westminster]] thought they would lay to rest once and for all Scottish independence and reset the narrative. READ MORE: 'Not in our name': Hundreds gather in Scottish cities to protest Donald Trump Scots sensing freedom rallied around the cause as the polls rose, only for Westminster to panic and reach out to the vast Union media to spread doom and fear about Scotland's chances to surviving on its own (see point 5). Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon were not prepared for the referendum fight that ensued, failing to deliver on the big questions in debates. Which isn't surprising because the [[SNP]] were probably taken aback when David Cameron said yes to a referendum, the [[SNP]] hadn't done all the preparative homework (ie currency, pensions, trade, the border, etc) to allay the fears of Scots never mind that of Scottish businesses and institutions. Even now, they are not prepared 11 years on and the SNPs hierarchy of 'it's my way or the highway approach to independence' is a flaw in their DNA. Scots' democracy is a consensus-based system, that's how the convention brought about devolution, and it's about time the SNP woke up to this fact. The SNP hierarchy don't even listen to their own rank and file or their activists! Even Swinney's recent independence reset is so bland, it wasn't worth the airtime. The concern of independence voters is who will be their political voice, certainly not the SNP at this time, the reason more than half a million voters failed to vote for them last time not many of these voters jumped the divide to Labour if you look at the voter breakdown. Worrying times indeed for both the SNP and independence voters. The independence voter churn is likely to continue. (Image: PA) 3. [[Westminster]] and the House of Lords (monarchy) demand power and obedience to rule which make the privilege richer and give the middle and lower classes just enough to keep them in line. So, the [[SNP]] need to be strategic and be prepared to gamble all to deliver independence. They had a whole parliamentary term when they were in the ascendancy to do this and failed miserably, partly due to internal squabbling at [[Westminster]] and interference from the FM and the FM's inner circle who acted as though [[Holyrood]] had political precedence and would deliver independence. Oh how wrong this attitude was, and it's been a slippery downward slope ever since. The best they could do was ask 'please sir can I have one more referendum?' and their reply was 'more, you had your day and the people of Scotland voted to remain, now is not the time for another referendum'. 4. At this time, the SNP should have shaken this up by electing a 'majority Scottish leader' at Westminster. Reintroduce the Scottish Grand Committee to review all Westminster's reserved matters like the constitution, eg another independence referendum or to vote on the impact of Westminster land-grab legalisation the 'Internal Market Act'. To vote on these and relay to the speaker of the house and the government the Scottish MP majority outcomes are token and disruptive gestures maybe, but it does echo the Scottish electorate will to the Parliament. More importantly, at this time the UK was out of Europe, a fundamental material change from the referendum debate of 2014 where membership of the European Union was one of [[Westminster]]'s key fear strategies, and from a democratic perspective, the [[SNP]] were the third-largest party at [[Westminster]] (unheard of achievement), the biggest party at [[Holyrood]] and biggest party of elected councillors in Scotland. If I was in charge at that time, I would have given the Westminster government the simple either/or ultimatum; to grant a second referendum or Scotland will unitarily leave the Union based on the elected mandate. The latter throwing the UK into a constitutional crisis, spooking the Bank of England (not UK!) and the financial markets. I am sure this would have led to a lot of activity behind the scenes as when the city of London catches a cold, Westminster sits up and takes note and then there is the probable granting of a second referendum. As I said, gamble big, better than the limp approach to the English Supreme Court approach! 5. Many countries have successfully left British rule and never looked back. As stated at point 1), Scots parliamentarians decided to join England in an Union, so it is not unrealistic to do the same in reverse, irrespective of the language of the treaty. Labour rules the UK with only 33.7% of those voted, so having greater than 50% is not necessary. Also, when a small group of Tory MPs like the 1922 club can oust an elected leader that won them a general election, it just goes to show how democracy works for English privilege and not for the democratic masses, like for Scotland. Also, when a Westminster party comes to power, there is no penalty or forfeit for not following their manifesto, so just because the SNP manifesto didn't explicitly say Scotland would leave the UK, anyone that votes for the SNP knows their DNA is independence, so shock horror if they deliver on it. From an European perspective, precedent was set when the Slovakian party announced the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, resulting in the separation in 1992 and the resultant independent sovereign states of Slovakia and Czech Republic where future EU ascension wasn't an issue, so why would Scotland's independence be a roadblock to independence or EU ascension, certainly not now after Brexit? A Wilson Stirlingshire THE Government has recently announced changes to the Contracts for Difference scheme, with a view to speeding up the development of renewable energy projects across the country. One of the new changes to the scheme is to extend the length of contracts for onshore and offshore windfarm project development. This provides an incentive for developers bidding for new contracts, as it gives them more time to recoup their costs. The new cycle for applications to the scheme opens on August 7, 2025. This incentivising highlights the point that Pat Kane made in his article on July 12, titled 'Scotland is heading back into a cycle of 'extraction without consent'', that after oil comes wind power. He also made reference to Lesley Riddoch's equally excellent article of June 19, about the multiple windfarm applications which are currently being made across the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Kane reflected back to a time when the play, The Cheviot, The Stag And The Black, Black Oil, by John McGrath dramatised the issues surrounding oil extraction in Scotland's waters, and went on to ask rhetorically, 'What kind of single dramatic 'representation' could take purchase?' in relation to the issues surrounding renewable energy generation in Scotland today. He lays down the gauntlet when he suggests that: 'Creatives worth their salt should rise to the challenge'. In the comments section at the end of his article, I did point out that in terms of dramatising the issues surrounding renewable energy being generated in Scotland, much of the problem creatives like myself face is getting our work heard. It's not that we are not offering a commentary, or perspective, on these issues, but without the following which the celebrity cult seems to generate in today's publishing world, it is hard to get your work noticed. Oblivious as to whether or not I am one of those who are 'worth their salt', I had just started the process of uploading, finalising and then releasing my latest humorous novel, An t-Eilean Dorcha (The Dark Island) at the time of his article. This was finally released in paperback on July 21 on Amazon. The novel focuses on a renewable energy project which is proposed for a small island, and the community has to evaluate its impact and consider how best to respond. My hope is that as well as providing the reader with some light entertainment and an escape from their day-to-day life, it will also, give voice to the very real concerns people have expressed about renewable energy resource generation in the Highlands and Islands. Gordon Ian MacLeod via email MUCH angst has been expressed recently about the high cost of electricity in Scotland. Hardly surprising in the UK's cradle of green, affordable generation. Disgruntled consumers may hold meetings, march, post banners and write letters – all protesting against high charges. The privatised electricity companies will ignore them, assuming that people will pay up for this essential necessity; and most probably will. In 1915, at the height of the First World War, greedy landlords in Glasgow increased rents beyond what was reasonable. Already poor people were incensed, but didn't know what to do about it. That is until local woman Mary Barbour stepped in and created an army which united in a rent strike. They surmised that if they hit the landlords in their pockets they would soon begin to squeal – and indeed it was not long before they did back down, realising that some rent was better than none. All the passive actions I mention above will not disturb the power companies one iota, so I suggest that folk in the Highlands and Islands emulate Mary Barbour's army, and refuse to pay their electricity bills en masse until they are charged the same per kilowatt that Londoners pay, backdated to 2020. Yes, the companies will hold out for as long as possible, they will take a few people to court, and as with any strike there will be folk who capitulate. But with solidarity, mutual support and determination, I believe the people will prevail. Richard Walthew Duns THE article in the digital edition reporting on the sale of an estate near Fort Augustus indicates that there will be a lot of interest from overseas. If this parcel of Scottish land is sold to an overseas buyer then there should be a hefty tax burden on the buyer and they should only be allowed to purchase it if everything is transparent so that the people of Scotland know who owns the land that should belong to the people of Scotland. Audrey Maceachen via email YOUR article on the electric super highway mentions a subsea cable from Fife into England. Meanwhile, Scotland is faced with giant pylons ruining the land? Our 'green' electricity, for which we are charged extortionate rates, being fed into another country. Has Mr Swinney and the [[SNP]] anything to say in this? Or is this robbery getting the silence that Grangemouth got. Jim Butchart via email
