[I started drafting this post a month ago before my unanticipated lay off (see here). It may no longer be news but what has happened has implications for the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority]. On 22nd March The Hunter Foundation (THF) wrote to the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) (see…
Tag: Local communities
I am writing this post in my capacity as Convener of Helensburgh and District Access Trust (HADAT), a Scottish incorporated charitable trust which seeks to improve countryside access in the Helensburgh and Lomond area. The trust manages the Three Lochs Way Great Trail and for many years has had ambitions to see that route extended…
The Aviemore and Glenmore Community Trust (AGCT) was formed in October 2017 “to seek community ownership of the Cairngorm Ski Area and Infrastructure, in order to ensure that it is more effectively managed for mountain visitors, employees, and the local and wider community”. That purpose was recorded at the end of the minutes of their…
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…
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…
Last week the Arrochar and Tarbet Local Community Development Trust, in partnership with the Friends of Loch Lomond and Trossachs, Luss Estates and local businesses, launched a new initiative to welcome visitors to the area (see here for news release). This involves the provision of two sets of temporary toilets, one at the head of…
Four days after its damp squib of an official opening on 19th December (above), Cairngorm Mountain Scotland Ltd (CMSL) announced that it was shutting up shop indefinitely (see here), but also that it had decided to lock the snow gates at Glen More for good measure, making it very hard for anyone else to enjoy…
Just before Xmas Scottish Enterprise (SE) announced (see here) it intended to renew its Exclusivity Agreement (EA) with Flamingo Land which was due to expire at the end of December. If approved by Scottish Ministers, the EA will legally commit SE to selling the land it owns at Balloch to Flamingo Land, should they secure…
The Planning Application for the Hunter Global Leadership Centre at Ross Priory, which I wrote about in June (see here), is due to be considered by the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority on Monday. The Planning Report makes sorry reading and throws any pretence at objectivity to the wind. As in the…
This post takes a look at the planning application for a proposed distillery, visitor centre and warehouse in the conservation village of Luss submitted on 11th August by the Hay Partnership on behalf of Glen Luss Distillery Ltd. The proposal The application (see here) is in two parts. The first, the area in red on…
Recently a new publication appeared on the LLTNPA website under Our Plans and Publications. This is headed “Indicative Regional Spatial Strategy (Draft) – 2020” (see here). The following includes excerpts from it. You will see that there are areas included for potential development where there has already been controversy and public outcry, notably proposals for…
On Monday I was pleased to speak at the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority Board Meeting on the need for improved visitor infrastructure in the National Park. While I will come back to the case I presented (see here) in a further post, I was only about to do because the LLTNPA has…
Having announced a new masterplan, that wasn’t, in April 2017 (see here) and, eighteen months later, a new £27 million vision that went nowhere (see here), Highlands and Islands Enterprise, without reference to those failures or what could be learned from them, launched at the end of July a consultation called “towards a new vision…
(This is the last of four posts see here, here, and here about how the £14-20 million proposed by Highlands and Islands Enterprise to repair the funicular could be better far better spent on snow sports within the geographical area for which they are responsible). Proposal A new triple chairlift adjacent to the Wall T-bar…
A number of developments have taken place since I covered the unlawful felling of trees and the creation of a new entrance to Ben Cruach Lodge at Tarbet, on the western shore of Loch Lomond, in May (see here). Coverage in the Helensburgh Advertiser (see here) appears to confirm that Ben Cruach Lodge is owned…
In late 2018 the RSPB submitted a planning application to construct a new footpath at Ward’s Farm, part of the National Nature Reserve (NNR) at the south east corner of Loch Lomond (see here for the planning papers that remain public). Over 18 months later, on 25th May, the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park…
The news that the Specialist Leisure Group (see here) and (here), the holding company for Shearings, has gone into administration should be a wake up call about the impact the Covid-19 lockdown is having on the economy of our National Parks and rural areas more generally. 2,500 jobs are likely to be lost, of which…
This story, which appeared in the Guardian last Saturday, appears to have been placed by Police Scotland. It was headed by the quote – cut off in extract above – on the left. The article fails to answer the obvious question, why are the police saying “This is not the time to visit our areas…
Scottish Government changes to planning processes The Scottish Government has been urging all planning authorities, including our National Parks, to maintain their planning system as a top priority. Planning Authorities are being urged to use all of their discretionary powers backed up by the Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020 to keep the planning system going (see…
The Aviemore and Glenmore Community Trust Ltd was incorporated (see here for information on companies house) on 17 October 2017 for the expressed purpose of gaining ownership and control of the Cairngorm Mountain business. The Trust has Articles of Association that are fully compliant with the Land Reform Legislation and as such it is a…
The corona crisis – the lessons of foot and mouth and a beacon of hope in the countryside “lockdown”
[NB this post has been updated. I have been informed that the LLTNPA has not closed the gates to all its carparks but instead police tape has in some cases been placed across them] The Foot and Mouth Crisis We have been here before, although the corona crisis is far more serious. I well…
I was pleased to have this letter published in the Herald last week following a post last year asking why grazing had been allowed to continue on the slopes (see here). The proposed Woodland creation scheme for the Rest and Be Thankful 2019-29 on the slopes of Beinn Luibhean is still open for consultation (see…
The Scottish Government claims to be doing lots to empower local communities in Scotland (see here) but the reality is rather different. For every community that has managed to acquire land to great public fanfare, there are a hundred that have been trampled over by the planning system. Power in Scotland is arguably as centralised…
Residents of Portincaple have produced an excellent short video (see here) for their campaign launch on Monday explaining the development which threatens their local community and why they are opposed to it. The Hovering Scotsman has also supported them by providing another video showing the wonderful landscape of Loch Long along with the aims of…