THERE are few places in Scotland as spectacular and iconic as Loch Lomond.

It has been the backdrop for millions of wonderful memories and immortalised in folktales for centuries. Runrig’s version of the Jacobite song which bears its name is the staple way to end any Scottish wedding or ceilidh.

With the school holidays upon us, and with the odd burst of sunshine, the bonnie banks are once again seeing huge numbers of visitors from across Scotland and the world.

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What many of those visitors are unaware of, though, is the threat currently facing the southern shore of the loch. For almost a decade Balloch has been threatened by a destructive mega-resort proposal brought forward by Flamingo Land, a multi-million-pound Yorkshire-based theme park operator.

Its planned “resort” would scar our world-famous landscape, cause irreversible damage to the local environment and bring huge numbers of additional cars onto already dangerously congested local roads. The application itself actually admits that the development will attract as many as one car every 14 seconds at peak times.

They want to cram 104 woodland lodges, two hotels, a waterpark, a monorail, 372 car parking spaces, shops and much more in a space that’s already enjoyed by many locals and tourists.

It’s no wonder that two local surveys have shown residents to oppose Flamingo Land by a margin of three to one. And it is already by far the most unpopular planning application in Scottish history, with almost 140,000 people having objected via the Scottish Greens’s campaign portal.

Back when this sorry saga began, Flamingo Land’s chief executive promised to walk away if they didn’t gain public support. Instead, they pressed ahead and in 2019 submitted an inappropriate development, only withdrawing at the last minute when it became clear they were facing rejection.

At that point I urged them to give up – but instead they came back with “fresh” plans which are on the same inappropriate scale and with the same destructive impacts.

Opposition to this ludicrous application has united the community in Balloch, the Woodland Trust, Ramblers Scotland, the National Trust for Scotland and thousands of people across the country who care deeply for Loch Lomond.

I’m so proud of our community-led campaign, but it has been incredibly draining for residents who have faced this threat for almost a decade.

But the end is now finally in sight. The board of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park will make a final decision on the application on September 16.

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I have hired legal and environmental advisors to submit a detailed 65-page objection on my behalf. Alongside those from the many conservation organisations and individuals objecting, this makes clear the case for issuing an unequivocal rejection.

Hopefully, a little over a month from now we can bring the curtain down on a long and inglorious saga of community resistance to corporate greed.

The issue is much bigger than Loch Lomond and Flamingo Land, awful as this situation is.

Our green spaces are for all of us. They are not just empty patches of land waiting for a greedy developer to build on them. Being outdoors in nature is incredibly good for our physical and mental health and protecting it is essential for all the local businesses who rely on the existing visitor economy.

Beyond all of that though, the environment has a worth in and of itself. It does not only exist to be used and abused by us.

The UK Labour Government is currently promising planning reforms for England that they say will prioritise economic growth. That’s an incredibly short-sighted and warped way to look at planning, and would only mean even more garish developments like the one being pushed by Flamingo Land.

If they have their way it would mean cutting corners and enriching already very wealthy developers at the cost of our environment and local communities.

In comparison, when we were in government, the Scottish Greens secured a number of important measures in Scotland’s dryly named but incredibly important National Planning Framework 4.

It was a watershed moment for planning and made it much harder for environmentally damaging projects to be granted planning permission, strengthening measures around flood risk and climate protection whilst prioritising important developments like affordable housing and renewable energy. Flamingo Land is clearly totally incompatible with NPF4.

Scotland’s two existing national parks are a jewel in our crown, which is why I am delighted that the Scottish Greens have managed to secure the creation of a new National Park in Galloway.

National Park status brings all sorts of opportunities and funding for nature restoration, biodiversity, species reintroduction and more. But it also attracts developers looking to make a quick profit by exploiting our natural environment and local communities.

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park board have the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to protecting this wonderful corner of our country, living up to the hopes people had when the park was first established.

With just a few weeks left to go, the Scottish Greens are going to pull out all the stops to give them every reason they need to show Flamingo Land the door. Together with thousands of people across the country, we are going to save Loch Lomond.

Find out more about the campaign to save Loch Lomond at greens.scot/FlamingoLand.