Second round of consultations to start on £40m Lomond Banks plans

Fiona Robertson, Lomond Banks community lead

A second round of consultations around the £40 million Lomond Banks tourist development plans has been scheduled.

The local community will now have the chance to further engage with proposals for Lomond Banks at Woodbank and West Riverside in Balloch. An online portal will be open from Monday 22nd November for two weeks showing the progress the application is making ahead of the planning submission in February 2022. A face-to face event has also been arranged for Thursday 25th November from 2pm to 7pm at Lomond Parish Hall, Balloch.

The team behind the project will be available to talk through the plans and gather further feedback.

This forms part of the extended consultation period which started in September, designed to provide stakeholders, the local community and other interested parties with a number of opportunities to engage with the plans ahead of the estimated February submission, with initial feedback from this segment to be reviewed on Friday 10th December.

This second consultation will also cover updates on the plans following the first round of consultation and the feedback received in September.

Key focus areas which have been identified during this initial period are the Pierhead area, integration with the community of Balloch, an emphasis on fair work, education and training as well as traffic and transport.

Jim Paterson, development director for the Lomond Banks project, said, “We are delighted to bring our second round of consultation to the Balloch community and, along with our face-to-face event, give people more opportunity to engage with our plans. The level of engagement and support from the local community during the first round was incredibly encouraging and very useful as we move our plans forward. Our vision is to create a sustainable world-class visitor experience here at Lomond Banks, one in which the local community and businesses of Balloch can be proud.

“Central to this vision is our commitment to the local area. Even at this early stage, partnerships with local organisations, training and employment opportunities and local businesses are key. With hundreds of jobs and an investment of £40 million, the economic benefits of Lomond Banks are compelling, providing a real opportunity to give a boost to the Balloch and the wider Loch Lomond area.”