Skip to navigation
Menu
Search
aerial-view-of-balloch-and-south-shore-of-loch-lomond-with-mountains-in-the-distance

West Riverside and Woodbank House (Lomond Banks)

Update 11th June 2025

This morning (11th June) the National Park Authority received a Direction that the Appeal will be determined by the Scottish Ministers. This follows an announcement yesterday evening by the Minister for Public Finance, Ivan McKee MSP who stated: “the development raises issues of national significance in view of its potential impact on Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. This means that the appeal should be determined at a national level.”

Scottish Ministers can intervene at any point before a final decision is issued on a planning appeal. The Scottish Government Reporter originally published a Notice of Intention to allow the appeal on 16th May this year.  However, the recall means that Ministers will now decide whether to allow the appeal or to dismiss the appeal and their reasons for doing so. Ministers may appoint a new Reporter, and there may be further associated procedure. There is no set timeframe for a decision to be issued, however the decision of the Ministers will be final.

Recall Direction is available Scottish Government – DPEA – Document

We now await further clarification from Scottish Government Ministers on next steps. We will update this page when more is known.

Update 3rd June 2025

Following the Scottish Government Reporter’s recent decision to overturn the National Park Authority’s refusal of Planning Permission in Principle for the proposed West Riverside and Woodbank House (Lomond Banks) in Balloch, the Reporter has indicated they are minded to grant Planning Permission in Principle, subject to a legal agreement being completed.

A Board Report relating to the handling of the appeal has been prepared by Officers and will be considered for noting by the National Park Authority Board at its meeting on 9 June.

For clarity, there is no opportunity to widen the scope of the matters to be included within the planning obligation (without both the agreement of the Reporter and the Appellant) and there is no role for interested parties to the appeal or for the wider public to comment as part of this process.

We will continue to provide updates on this process in due course.

Update 23rd May 2025

Following the decision by the National Park Authority Board to reject the planning application for a major tourism development at West Riverside and Woodbank House in Balloch (September 2024), the applicant submitted an appeal against that decision to the Scottish Government’s Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA). 

We received a notice of intention on 16 May 2025 from the DPEA that the Scottish Government Reporter (appointed to consider the appeal) is minded to allow the appeal and grant Planning Permission in Principle.  

This means that the Scottish Government Reporter has taken a different view on the planning application and that – subject to a legal agreement being reached – the decision of the National Park Authority Board to refuse Planning Permission in Principle has been overturned.  

The DPEA is leading the appeal process (not the National Park Authority) and all interested parties will be notified by the DPEA of any updates.    

There is no formal opportunity for further public comment at this stage.  

What happens now?

The Scottish Government’s approval of Planning Permission in Principle is subject to a legal agreement being agreed between the appellant (Flamingo Land) and the National Park Authority.  

A legal agreement must be completed and submitted to the DPEA within 26 weeks, after which it is anticipated that Planning Permission in Principle will be granted.   

Whilst the National Park Authority stands by its decision in September 2024 to refuse planning permission for the development, we acknowledge the Reporter’s decision and are required to work to conclude a legal agreement on the terms prescribed by the Reporter.   

Planning Permission in Principle will be issued once this agreement is formally concluded.  Following that, the applicant can submit detailed planning applications to the National Park Authority. Construction on site is only possible once those detailed planning applications have been determined by the National Park Authority and planning permission granted. 

You can view all of the documents for this Appeal on the DPEA website. 

More details about the appeal process can be found here – A guide to planning appeals in Scotland – gov.scot 

Previous updates

 

Previous application (registered as valid on 21st May 2018)

A previous planning application for a major development at West Riverside and Woodbank House, Balloch, was registered as valid on 21 May 2018. On 17 September 2019 this application was withdrawn by the applicants and the Pre-determination Hearing and Meeting to determine the application was cancelled. As the planning authority, we issued this statement on the withdrawal of the application.

The previous planning application and planning report can be viewed online via our planning portal under reference 2018/0133/PPP.


While we make every effort to ensure these links are accurate, up to date and relevant, the National Park Authority has no responsibility for pages maintained by external providers.  

The National Park Authority takes no responsibility for information contained on external links from this website. Views expressed by individuals on their own webpages or on external sites they link to are not necessarily those of the National Park Authority.

These links are being provided for information purposes only; they do not constitute an endorsement or an approval by the National Park Authority of any of the products, services or opinions of the corporation or organsation or individual. The National Park Authority bears no responsibility for the accuracy, legality or content of the external site or for that of subsequent links.  Please contact the external site directly for answers to questions regarding its content.

Back to top
Skip to content