A PETITION to stop Loch Tay from being turned into a “billionaires’ playground” has topped 72,000 signatures.

Concerns centre around proposals by the Discovery Land Company (DLC) for 8,000 acres of land around the idyllic Scottish loch in Perthshire.

The company specialises in exclusive “communities” for the super-wealthy, and boasts a property portfolio that spans the globe.

DLC bought Taymouth Castle, at Loch Tay, and plans a £300 million revamp of the site, but tens of thousands of people have now joined locals to voice their concerns that it could destroy “tranquil and beautiful Loch Tay.”

The petition, on behalf of Protect Loch Tay and drafted by founder Rob Jamieson, decries “drip-fed” planning applications having a “salami-slicing” effect on environmental protections.

The statement reads: “This whole area is a treasured part of our Scottish heritage and culture and we seek to preserve it for every one of us, our children, our grandchildren and generations to come.

“The developers are a group of American billionaires who specialise in exclusive gated “worlds” for the super-rich.

“This is not what Scotland is about.

“Wildlife, some of which is already under threat, for example three species of lamprey, otters and the Atlantic salmon may be displaced, and more mature woodland cleared.”

Ospreys and divers could easily be driven away, creating a wildlife desert, it warns, adding: “We seek to highlight this to the Scottish government and demand a complete halt to all further and future development.

“We want strict oversight of what development is already under way by an authority other than Perth and Kinross Council, who we see as having failed to protect this beautiful area.

“Now is the time to act before further consents are given, and we have lost our stunning natural heritage in this area forever.

“If lost it cannot be replaced.”

DLC was contacted for comment.