A community council has called for “immediate suspension” of the planning application process for Flamingo Land’s controversial Lomond Banks development.
In a letter to Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA), Lynne Somerville, chair of the Balloch & Haldane Community Council, expressed “grave concerns over the way” the authority “has handled and prejudiced its ability to determine the Flamingo Land/Lomond Banks planning application”.
Ms Somerville called for the suspension “pending a full enquiry”.
The community council is also spearheading the new Loch Lomond South Community Development Trust which yesterday registered interest in five sites many of which are within the proposed development, raising the possibility of a community-led alternative.
Lomond Banks has been described as the “most objected to” application in Scotland’s history. Nearly 150,000 objections have been lodged through a petition portal set up by the Scottish Greens.
The Balloch & Haldane Community Council letter was sent to Heather Reid, convener of the LLTNPA Board, in the midst of rising tensions in the run up to the decision on the development, which will be made by the park’s board on September 16.
In response, Dr Reid said: “As we approach the next milestones in this process, I would again urge groups and individuals who have strong views to allow due process to be carried out and to refrain from spreading misinformation that seeks to undermine it.”
The community council letter alleged that there has been “a series of breaches of probity, conflict of interest and concern over the conduct of some LLTNPA elected board members in direct contravention of The Code of Conduct for Board Members of Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority”.
It quoted a statement in the final draft, considered by the board, of the National Park Partnership Plan, which said: "Beyond what has already been identified in the current National Park Local Development Plan and is already in the pipeline for delivery, it is not envisaged that any significant new sites for development will be needed in the period of this Plan."
The letter argued that this demonstrates that “members of the board had expressed views on the proposed site demonstrating clear bias and, in the absence of any of alternative development proposal the reference to 'in the pipeline' can only be a clear reference to the Flamingo Land planning application.”
“Further,” it said, “by passing the National Park Partnership Plan those board members made it a material consideration in the planning process which they add greater weight to when considering the planning proposal. In so doing the board's members created a conflict of interest for themselves.”
The letter also included an annex quoting from the parkswatchscotland blog by Nick Kempe, which attempts to tell the story of LLTNPA’s involvement with the first Flamingo Land application.
When Scottish Enterprise, the public body which owns the site, put it up for sale in 2015, he observed, it did so in partnership with the LLTNPA. “The sales brief contained numerous references to SE’s partnership with the LLTNPA. This partnership was not only promoting the sale of the West Riverside site, running along the west bank of the River Leven, but other 'undeveloped sites within Loch Lomond Shores' owned by Scottish Enterprise.”
He also stated that an FOI response, obtained from Scottish Enterprise, “shows that the LLTNPA were on the panel which interviewed and scored five developers bidding to buy the “West Riverside” site in August 2015 and evaluated the bid from Flamingo Land as being the best.”
READ MORE:
- Flamingo Land's Lomond Banks. The controversy explained
- Lomond Banks key dates published, with calls for 'respect'
- What Lomond Banks controversy says about our National Parks
No prejudice
Dr Heather Reid said: “I have received the concerns from the Community Council regarding an alleged conflict of interest for this planning application and have reassured them that claims being made in this respect are entirely without merit.
“Providing advice - including planning advice ahead of a planning application being submitted - is something the Park Authority does on a regular basis. In this case, advice was provided to Scottish Enterprise regarding land they own, areas of which have been allocated for development in the Local Development Plan for many years.
“Providing such advice does not constitute a conflict of interest and does not presume the outcome of any planning application that may be submitted thereafter. The final decision to appoint Flamingo Land as the preferred bidder for the site was a decision made by Scottish Enterprise alone, as the land owner.
“Regardless of who was appointed by Scottish Enterprise, the subsequent planning process is the same. And that is the process being followed – to the letter – by a professional team of National Park Authority planners right now as they assess the proposals against relevant planning policies and other considerations.
“Likewise, I have reassured the Community Council that Board Members approving our latest National Park Partnership Plan was in no way prejudging any particular planning application. References in that plan to development ‘in the pipeline for delivery’ were a reference to a whole host of sites either allocated for development in the Local Development Plan or already granted planning permission and not yet developed.”
A community-led alternative
Balloch and Haldane Community Council, which recently registered Lomond South Community Development Trust at Companies House, yesterday sent a letter to the owner of the land, Scottish Enterprise, registering interest in five areas of land
The areas are: the Balloch Tourist and Information Building, currently leased to Visit Scotland; the West Riverside site by the river Leven; the land leased by Scottish Enterprise to the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority at the pierhead; the Gateway Centre and surrounding land which is currently leased by Scottish Enterprise to the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority; Drumkinnon Woods.
This represents an expansion in the ambition of the community project. Previously, in May, the community council had registered an expression of interest, but only in the tourist information centre.
Lynne Somerville, chair of Balloch and Haldane Community Council said: “Balloch and Haldane Community Council/Loch Lomond South Development Trust is actively looking for philanthropists to consider this as an investment under corporate social responsibility”.
A Scottish Enterprise spokesperson said: “We have met with Balloch and Haldane Community Council to discuss their recent interest in the site and advised that any Community Asset Transfer Request would be considered in line with the relevant legislation."
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