Official vandalism

Yet another gloomy day, both physically and mentally! I discovered only yesterday that the beautiful Loch Lomond, one of the loveliest places in Scotland and her first National Park, is to be desecrated, with permission from the Park Authority itself. 

Apparently Sir Tom Hunter, a well-known Scottish businessman, entrepreneur, philanthropist and Scotland’s first ‘home-grown billionaire’, has proposed a new ‘Global Leadership Centre’ to be built on the south shore of Loch Lomond, adjacent to the beautiful Scottish Gothic Ross Priory, where I was Head Gardener from 1976-1992. This modern plate-glass windowed building, along with four accommodation blocks and a car park, will be one of the most prominent, if not the most prominent, building on the lochside and will ‘also be used for weddings’. The Park Authority’s Planning Department, according to what I’ve read, didn’t even commission an Environmental Impact Assessment, but passed the plans unanimously, ignoring the many protests and objections. 

I heard today that the Scottish Government has ‘called in’ the application, possibly because of this lack. It’s hard to believe that a body whose existence, I would have thought, was to protect the National Park with its wildlife and scenery, should behave in such a scandalous way! Quite obviously it’s all about money.

Quote of the Day:

The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond (Traditional Scottish song) – “The wee birdies sing and the wildflowers spring, And in sunshine the waters are sleeping.”