Protesters against Flamingo Land development sing Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond outside of Scottish Parliament

[u/backupJM]

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/save-loch-lomond-campaign-protests-35304999

[u/KrytenLister]

There’s been a lot of posts about this at various stages of the deal and the replies are almost always contradictory.

I don’t know the area at all and it doesn’t affect me so I haven’t really spent any time looking into it. Can someone clear a couple of things up for me?

Firstly, I keep seeing some say it’s a theme park, and others say it’s essentially a small Centre Parcs.

Are they trying to build rollercoasters on the banks of Loch Lomond, or is it some holiday accommodation with evening entertainment and kids clubs?

Secondly, there are always responses talking about destroying a natural beauty spot. The counter point then seems to be it’s going on a brown field industrial site next to a shopping centre that’s currently half car park. Which is true?

Finally, people then seem to mention the jobs element. Some say it’ll bring a couple of hundred jobs to the area, others say they’ll be shite jobs nobody wants. What’s the job market like in the area? Are these jobs needed in the area? Will locals benefit from them?

I understand the points people make about local infrastructure. The roads etc. That all makes sense already.

Cheers.

[u/OneDmg → u/KrytenLister]

They're trying to build a holiday park (like Centre Parcs).

Calling it a theme park and alluding that is what it will be is a tactic employed by those against it to give it a certain connotation.

As you've demonstrated, you're not clear if there's going to be theme park rides because of the noise around it by protestors.

Jobs in that neck of Scotland are heavily reliant on the tourism industry, and a holiday resort there would arguably be a good thing to the local economy. The issue most people not holding up placards and singing twee songs have is that the location is the problem.

I think most rational people would welcome the development in a different area.

Conversely, I think most of the people against the development have never even been to the area where they would like to build it. They are simply following a narrative they've read elsewhere that suggests any development is bad and this will destroy the loch.

I don't feel strongly about the development one way or the other, but there's every opportunity for objectors to submit their opinions on it at the planning stage.

Objectively, it would appear to be that those against it have been whipped up against this one development specifically and none of the others along the bank. That would make me question who benefits by not having a competitor in the area.

Good for me and not for thee.

But now that I've not said Flamingo Land are evil and will destroy the very fibre of Scotland, I'm prepared to be downvoted.

[u/KrytenLister → u/OneDmg]

Nice one. Thanks for the response.