Four years ago, I blogged both before (here) and after ( here) the last set of Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) local member elections, arguing there was an urgent need for their Board to consider how the election of local members could be made more democratic in future. Having followed every meeting…
Tag: Governance
On Friday the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) announced a swingeing increase (see here) in the fees it charges campers: from £3 to £4 or 33% per night for anyone wanting to camp in a permit area – places without any facilities – in one of the camping management zones; and from…
It is now three and a half years since Historic Environment Scotland (HES) closed the Radical Road below Salisbury Crags in Edinburgh and it was good to see the BBC pick up the story last week (see here). HES has also been in the news recently (see here) and (see here) because of its proposals to…
Following his post on the A82 upgrade (see here), John Urquhart and other volunteers from the Helensburgh and District Access Trust (HADAT) requested a deputation to the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority Board on their alternative proposals for a high road linking Tarbet and Invernan. This was accepted and the HADAT delegation was…
The Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) Board meeting today was meant to be held both on-line and in public at the National Park HQ. With the wave of Omicron sweeping the country, I fully expected the meeting to be cancelled but the notice (above) was up last night and still was this…
In Scotland it is often easy to tell whether land is protected for nature, it looks, sounds and feels like nature is doing well. Ben Dolphin explained this recently in a fine article for walkhighlands (see here) about why Scotland’s Nature National Reserves are a good place to walk. The challenge for both the Scottish…
The Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) website has had a makeover. If you click on their site address https://www.lochlomond-trossachs.org/ you are greeted by a photo of a digger in the uplands, the hashtag slogan “Let’s do net zero” and a page of links to information on various aspects of the “climate emergency…
The number of people drowning in Loch Lomond has been a major issue for years, with our public authorities being far more concerned about the health and safety standards being applied to competitors in the European Swimming Championships, all by definition great swimmers, than the general public (see here). But even after the terrible events…
The Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority Board meeting two weeks ago was only the second I have not observed in seven years. There appeared no point. The whole agenda (see here) was based on corporate box ticking – finance reports, audit reports, corporate governance: There was no substantive item about any of the…
The National Park Partnership Plan is a five year plan which sets out the overarching framework for what happens in our National Parks, the contribution of the various public authorities involved and priorities for action. The current plan for the Cairngorms runs out in 2022 and the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) is in the…
On Wednesday I drove to Luss, the first time I had been along the A82 since May, and was amazed by the transformation. Instead of the usual litter strewn verges and laybys, I had to look quite carefully to spot any litter. The Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority has for years had a…
When the Scottish Parliament resumes in Edinburgh on Monday, MSPs should go and take a look at the access problem that is visible from their doorstep. The Radical Road below Salisbury Crags has now been closed by Historic and Environment Scotland for almost three years following a rockfall. The prolonged closure raises issues of national…
There are two good things to say about the publication two weeks ago of Cairngorm Mountain (Scotland) Ltd (CMSL’s) accounts (see here) for the year ending 31st March. The first is that they were made public just four months after the end of the financial year, well before the nine month deadline for private companies. …
The Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority used to operate three visitor centres around the southern half of Loch Lomond. It owns two, those at Luss and Balmaha, which date back to the Lomond Park Authority and were transferred to the LLTNPA on its creation. The third, at Balloch, was constructed by Scottish Enterprise…
After the introduction of the UK-wide Equality Act (2010), Scottish Ministers introduced the the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012 (see here). These required Public Authorities in Scotland to report every two years “on progress to make the equality duty integral to the exercise of its functions” and, once every four years, starting…
After being awarded an extra £3m by the Scottish Government for 2021-22, the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority decided at their meeting on 15th March to delay deciding how to spend £965,000 of this until their June meeting (see here). One Board Member did ask Pete Wightman, the Director of Corporate Services, about…
The Cairngorms and Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authorities (NPAs) were both awarded significant increases in funding in the Scottish Government’s budget (see here), a significant turn-around in fortunes. In September the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) reported a significant hole in their finances, with a projected deficit – after yet…
A month ago I obtained the Cairngorm Mountain Business Plan 1st April 2020 – 31st March 2023, along with Highlands and Islands Enterprise’s operational agreement with Cairngorm Mountain Scotland Ltd, their fully owned subsidiary responsible for the plan, through Freedom of Information requests. Both documents are heavily redacted (sorry still too many MB in size…
Ten days ago the Green MSP, Ross Greer, issued a news release (see here) after being informed by Fiona Hyslop, the Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, that Scottish Enterprise “will not be a co-applicant in the planning process” with Flamingo Land for their proposed new development at Balloch. The story was picked up a couple…
This post takes a further look (see here) at the ongoing mismanagement of health and safety at Cairn Gorm. After concerns about the safety of the lift infrastructure at Cairngorm Mountain were raised by a member of the public in 2018 the Health & Safety Executive (H&SE) visited and issued three Improvement Notices. The Inspectors (“they”)…
The Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park Authority – is there anybody there for outdoor recreation?
Most people I know who are working at home are getting more work done there than if they had the distractions of the office. This has also been claimed in the press to be the case. But in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) it appears that during the Covid crisis much…
Regular reader will know that in investigating what is going on in our National Parks, contributors often use information published on the Companies House website. Recent examples include my coverage of the Cameron House fire (see here) and Tim Ambrose’s analysis of the level of public subsidy provided by Highlands and Islands Enterprise to Cairngorm…
Continuing this series of posts (see here), the idea for funicular at Cairn Gorm was I believe inspired by the Ellmau funicular. A comparison between the two railways is instructive and raises further questions about whether the proposed repairs to the Cairngorm Mountain funicular. The most outstanding difference is the viaduct itself, steel piers and…
Amid the public outcry about the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority’s approval of the Hunter Foundation development at Ross Priory, the Scottish Government’s Planning and Environmental Appeals Division has opened a case (see here) on whether an Environmental Impact Assessment should have conducted. Until that is decided, the LLTNPA’s decision has effectively been…
On Monday I watched, or tried to watch, the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority Board meeting online (see here for papers) . The “lifesize” video link kept cutting out soI had to log back in ten or so times. It appeared from disappearing Board Member and vice-convener Willie Nisbet that I was not…