The primary purpose of this Local Place Plan is to provide an up-to-date statement of current issues we face and our aspirations for the future, to help public bodies, landowners, businesses and funders consider how they can best support positive change in the area.

The plan is envisaged as covering a 5-10 year period until approximately 2030.

Delivery of the plan must be collaborative, with public bodies, private sector and local community working together for common purpose. Everybody needs to be involved if the plan is to become a reality.

Preparation of this Local Place Plan has been facilitated by Arrochar, Tarbet & Ardlui Community Council on behalf of the local community. We are grateful to Luss Estates Company and Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park for their financial support in preparing this Plan, to the many local people and organisations who have contributed to the plan’s preparation, and to Page\Park Architects and Nick Wright Planning for their professional support.

The first step in public consultation was the distribution of a survey in summer 2022. The content and appearance of the survey was guided by an independent steering group, made up of Community Council and Development Trust members, parents of children at the local school, and business owners – among others. The result was a paper survey that was delivered to every house in the community, with extra copies in public places, and post-boxes to return them in multiple locations. This was accompanied by an online version, which was distributed by QR codes on buses, in shops, on social media, and in the local newspapers.

In total, 293 people shared their aspirations for Arrochar, Tarbet, Succoth & Ardlui. Of those 293, 263 live in the local community. That means 36% of the local population answered the survey, which is high for a survey of this nature.

To read the full community response, you can visit the website at www.bit.ly/three-villages-results

Following completion of the survey, the Community Council and consultant team invited the community to two events in the Three Villages Hall in Arrochar to share the survey results, and agree what the priorities were and what to do about them.

The results of the public and business consultations, and economic research prepared by the consultant team, combine together into a ‘big picture’ of the issues within the community, and how they interact.

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The challenge facing the local community is how to tackle deep-seated issues around housing, jobs, vacant and derelict property, and the impacts of trunk road traffic with limited capacity and resource – and the need for public authorities and private landowners to play their part.

Tackling that challenge, and creating a sustainable and thriving community into the future, requires positive interventions designed to:

The below graphic illustrates how the aims and actions of the Local Place Plan might tackle some of the issues identified by the community, and start to break the cycle currently happening.

The aims and actions on the yellow notes are expanded upon in the next section, ‘priority actions’.

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The plan contains six priority areas, each with aims and actions. The five priority areas directly reflect the concerns and aspirations expressed in the community survey:

1. Life in the community
2. The environment
3. Population & homes
4. Getting about
5. Visitors
6. Jobs and business

Each priority area proposes a series of aims and actions. This summary page contains only the aims, but the more detailed actions can be found in the complete report here: Local Place Plan.

Life in the community

Sense of community is really important to us: we are a friendly, neighbourly, caring community with an active Community Council. But our community facilities have been whittled away over the years: sports and recreation facilities, playparks, police presence, shops, tradesmen and so on. For children and teenagers, the lack of things to do and places to go is particularly marked. We need better facilities and more activities for people of all ages if we are to thrive as a community.

“I would love to see Arrochar more like it was 30-40 years ago when it had a more community feel.”

Click the image below to read the accompanying list of actions, or refer to the complete plan here.

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The environment

As a community, we love our local environment. The hills, lochs and nature are among the things we value most about living here, attracting visitors from near and far as you would expect in a National Park. But our villages and lochsides are blighted by neglect, derelict sites and vacant property, much of which has remained unchanged for many years. This needs to change. Landowners need to step up to the mark, and public authorities need to use the powers and resources at their disposal.

“[there are] derelict buildings everywhere.”

Click the image below to read the accompanying list of actions, or refer to the complete plan here.

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Homes & population

Expensive house prices and an ever-increasing number of second homes and holiday lets create huge challenges for our community. The average house price has increased by over 70% in Arrochar and Tarbet since 2019, and three-quarters of homes sold since 2017 have become holiday lets or second homes. The twin impacts are that local people and workers are priced out of the market, and the declining full-time population reduces the viability of local schools, local services, businesses and community activities.

“Increase in house prices means my children cannot live here.”

Click the image below to read the accompanying list of actions, or refer to the complete plan here.

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Getting about

Moving around the area is problematic for those without a car. Despite Scottish Government transport policy being to promote walking, cycling and public transport, our villages are dominated by trunk road vehicle traffic. Simple actions, like crossing the road to the shop or walking and cycling to school, are dangerous. Transport infrastructure needs to be redesigned to be safe for the communities it passes through, and we need public transport that enables us to access jobs, facilities and opportunities in the Vale and Helensburgh.

“The road prevents us and tourists enjoying our village.”

Click the image below to read the accompanying list of actions, or refer to the complete plan here.

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Visitors

Loch Lomond is world-famous. The Cobbler and the Arrochar Alps are amongst Scotland’s most popular hills. Hundreds of thousands of people pass through our villages every year on their way to and from Argyll and the West Highlands. But the visitor experience is poor and we fail to tap into tourism’s economic potential. We need to better accommodate and cater for visitors.

“Make it a village that is able to gain from the many visitors it welcomes.”

Click the image below to read the accompanying list of actions, or refer to the complete plan here.

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Jobs & business

Our future depends on jobs and business opportunities. Without offering young people reasons to stay, and parents opportunities to make a living, our shops, schools and community life will wither away. We have plenty of opportunities in terms of outdoor assets, visitor numbers, development sites and planned major infrastructure projects like the A82/A83 upgrades. Indeed, 40% of respondents to the business survey said that they plan to increase their staff in the next 3-5 years.

“For our community to survive there has to be investment for work. Hotel work options exist but there needs to be more than that to tempt people here.”

“People have left the village because they can’t get premises to set up a business”

Click the image below to read the accompanying list of actions, or refer to the complete plan here.

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Thank you again for your support throughout this process. Now comes the hard work of turning it into reality!

This is the critical message:

After many years of neglect, yet blessed with so much opportunity, we need public authorities to show us a little love: Transport Scotland, Argyll and Bute Council, the National Park, and Forestry and Land Scotland in particular.

When we say the local community, we mean everyone that lives and works here. If individuals don’t step up to help, this plan won’t happen. So, if you want to see change happen, get involved. Whether you want to help to organise something in the hall or tidy up the village, the Community Council and the Development Trust are more than willing to assist.

We have a similar message for public authorities: the National Park, Argyll and Bute Council, the Scottish Government, and others organisations referenced in the plan:

We need everyone’s support.