Often it has been referred to, disparagingly, as Flamingo Land Loch Lomond. Its official name, though, is Lomond Banks and it has for some years now been the most objected to planning application in Scotland's history, with 140,000 objections now filed through a petition portal.
With the decision on its fate due at a board meeting and public hearing held by Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park on September 16, emotions are running high, amongst those who support it, those who are against and those who believe that much better options are possible for the Balloch community who will live with it at their doorstep.
There is also both misinformation and opacity. With just a month to go before the decision is made, The Herald is looking into key questions around this highly charged debate. What exactly will be at the Lomond Parks resort, and how does the new application differ from what came before?
What is it about Balloch, and Loch Lomond, that has meant so many feel so strongly about the development? How did that anger gather so quickly into a tidal wave of objections that even now keeps coming?
To get an insight into what has upset so many locals, as well as those farther afield, our writer, Kevin McKenna takes a trip to the bonny banks at Balloch to meet residents fighting the development. But we will also feature Fiona Robertson, community engagement led for Lomond Bonks, who points out that she has "lost count of how many people have told me they thought they were objecting to a theme park being created".
The locals and campaigners behind a new community development trust which wants to push for a more community-led development, and assert its 'right to buy' parts of the site, set out their case. And we will look at what the controversy tells us about how National Parks are performing, and what the public feels they should be about - questions that are particularly relevant at a time when a third National Park, in Galloway, is in the pipeline.
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