Thank you to everyone who completed our survey!
120 people shared their aspirations for Luss & Arden. The survey responses are a fascinating insight into the community as it is now, and what we want it to be.
Scroll on to see the results …
Firstly, we asked ‘what do you like about where you live?’, for example, what’s good about living here, or what should be protected for the future?
These were the key themes that emerged from your answers:
(tap or hover on each to find out what the theme includes)
Excerpts from the written responses:
“Spectacular scenery with easy access to hill-walking and water-based activities, yet still close to local towns and Glasgow. Still has community spirit including many families who have been here for decades or more.”
“Who wouldn’t want to stay here? Easily accessible and close to most amenities, but having a car is indeed an advantage, especially in ‘old age’!”
Secondly, we asked ‘what do you NOT like about where you live?’, for example, what makes it difficult to live or stay here?
These were the key areas of concern:
(tap or hover on each to find out what the theme includes)
Excerpts from the written responses:
“Anti social behaviour. Inconsiderate visitors, and the inability to enjoy our own surroundings unless it is ‘out of season’.”
“Ever-increasing traffic jams and inconsiderate parking cause huge problems e.g. inability of emergency services to reach this area and return to hospitals, long delays for business deliveries, bus services and key workers.”
“Too many houses are being used as holiday lets with no permanent residents, impacting on school numbers and general community activities.”
“Luss is now a resort not a village for residents. Lockdown reminded me of what it was like in the village when I was a kid – it was fantastic. It should be remembered that Luss welcomes visitors when it is properly managed and has the infrastructure to cope. There are very few places in Scotland where the areas of car parks are about 3 times bigger than the village itself.”
Issues were shared to a degree across demographics, however there were instances where a particular demographic felt more or less strongly about something:
Anti-social behaviour was raised by all demographics, but most commonly among 30-44 and 45-59 year olds. It was mentioned by more than 50% of people who responded in Luss (51%) and Arden & Muirlands (56%). 38% of respondents who work in the area (rather than residents) identified anti-social behaviour as an issue.
Issues around the A82, including congestion, safety and noise were raised most frequently by residents of Arden and Muirlands (76% of residents mentioned this), than Luss (13%). This was also mentioned most by people aged 45-59 or older.
Excessive tourism was a concern for 28% of all survey respondents. In Luss, the percentage increased to 38% of respondents.
Poor public transport was mentioned 29 times in total, with more than 50% (15 mentions) of those mentions coming from respondents who work in the area. More than 50% of mentions (15 mentions) were also from respondents aged 16-29.
Issues around excessive holiday lets and lack of affordable housing were mentioned 14 times in total, with more than 50% (8) of mentions coming from respondents who work in the area. Only 1 of the 14 mentions came from a respondent who didn’t live or work in Luss.
The issue of jetskis and general behaviour on the loch is included in the theme of ‘antisocial behaviour’ above, but is also notable for the number of responses it received in its own right.
The word ‘jetski’ was mentioned negatively in 23 written responses.
“The loch is out of control – ban jetskis and get speedboats out of the bay.”
“Jetskis spoil the tranquillity – very noisy and most do not abide by the speed limit.”
“Fast boats and jetskis ignore the rules of the water, maybe unaware of the danger they are causing to themselves and others.”
At a classroom session with Luss Primary School pupils to help them think about the future of the area, popular topics of discussion were the lack of things to do, and of other families and children.
Excerpts from the children’s responses:
“More things for locals rather than the tourists.”
“I would like a bigger slide and swings”
“More stuff for kids to do, better bus times to Helensburgh, more houses for locals, less holiday homes.”
To conclude, we asked a two-part question; the first part asked ‘what do you want to happen in your community’s future?’
This is what you told us:
(tap or hover on each to find out what the theme includes)
And finally, we asked ‘what one thing would you prioritise?’
Excerpts from the written responses:
“Visitors are here to stay and are a vital part of local economy however the numbers must be better managed.”
“More accessible housing is needed to make it a sustainable community ie. keep the school alive. Something needs to be done to reduce the number of properties being bought for holiday homes – it is killing the community.”
“Ban jet skis from the Loch”
“Let the community get its village back. Lockdown was amazing, I met folks I had not seen/spoken to in years, locals started talking again.”
Again, most desires and aspirations were shared across demographics, however there were instances where a particular demographic felt more or less strongly about something they wanted to see in the community’s future:
Desire to see issues with management of visitors, parking, and traffic resolved was a view shared by the whole community, but most significantly in the 45-59 demographic (58% of whom mentioned it).
The desire to see better connections, including public transport and active travel, was most significantly held by the 16-29 and 30-44 demographics, between which make up 74% of the mentions for this. 21 of the 31 mentions of this (68%) were also made by those respondents working in the community, rather than living here. Only 12% of residents mentioned better connections as an aspiration.
Similarly, over 50% (14 of 27) of the mentions of more affordable housing were made by respondents working in the community, rather than living here. 50% of respondents in the 30-44 demographic (both living and working) mentioned this as an aspiration.
We also asked respondents to consider how they would rate each of the following categories out of 5 today, which 1 being ‘poor’, and 5 being ‘excellent’.
The average responses received in each category are plotted on the chart below as purple dots.
We also asked respondents how they felt these categories had changed in the last 10 years. The average response accompanies each dot.
Responses indicate that in most categories respondents did not believe things had improved in the last decade. The only category with a slight improvement was ‘work opportunities’.
We received a good number of responses to our survey – 120 people in total.
Of those 120 people, 75 live in the local community. That means 28% of the local population answered the survey, which is high for a survey of this nature.
The breakdown of responses by age demographic and location within the community council area can be explored in the following interactive diagram. Each dot represents one survey respondent. Use the drop-down options beneath to see the dots move and understand how different people responded to the survey:
Thank you to everyone who completed a survey, and to all those who helped to encourage others to do so. With such a good response rate, the survey results form a strong basis from which to plan our future.
To view a PDF of the full results, follow this link:
In parallel with the community survey, a separate survey was distributed to businesses in West Loch Lomond. The survey asked business owners and operators a range of questions, on subjects including: staffing; recruitment; COVID; and how their business might be better supported in the future.
We have received 38 responses in total so far. The responses are a vital insight into the challenges faced by business operators in the area, and their prospects and aspirations for the future.
Responses have been received from a variety of business types, most of whom (75.4%) are in the tourism sector (i.e. visitor attraction, accommodation, retail, and hospitality):
‘Out-of-season’, the businesses who responded employ a total of 564 people. This number more than doubles to 988 in ‘peak-season’.
Only 26% of staff working in these businesses live within the villages of Luss, Arden, Arrochar, Tarbet and Ardlui. Around half of the staff working in these businesses live within 10 miles of their place of work.
We asked businesses ‘Have you experienced issues in staff recruitment and availability recently?’
61.3% of businesses answered yes, and 38.7% answered no.
40% of businesses said that they can’t find staff locally which is linked to the lack of available local workforce.
30% of business respondents said that the remoteness of the location and poor public transport were factors in recruiting staff.
22% of business respondents said that the lack of local, affordable housing was a factor in recruiting staff.
Comments from owners and operators included:
“People unwilling to travel up the lochside.”
“Lack of local staff and other people to take up positions.”
“They think the location is remote, no train service or regular bus service.”
Of the businesses who responded, 25% generate a turnover in excess of £1m and 75% are a range of smaller/medium sized businesses generating turnover of less than £1m.
Interestingly some businesses have traded better since COVID whilst others have suffered. This may be down to some businesses being able to be flexible and trade outdoors and take advantage of increased outdoor visitors since COVID.
34% of businesses surveyed have experienced an increase in trade since COVID.
42% of businesses surveyed have experienced a decrease in trade since COVID.
There is a positive and healthy outlook from the businesses surveyed in terms of future business’ growth.
Of the survey results, 65% of the businesses said they were planning to invest and develop in their business in the next 3-5 years
40% of business plan to increase staff in the next 3-5 years.
We asked businesses what the main challenges or constraints facing the business were?
Increased running costs and the rising costs of energy are key challenges to businesses.
90% of businesses highlighted increased running costs as a key challenge.
79% of business highlighted increased energy costs as a key challenge.
And finally, we asked businesses what would help them?
53% of businesses said changes in visitor management. This is of particular relevance to the Luss area.
47% of businesses said that Business Support would help their business.
Generally, most businesses felt confident about their future in this location. When asked to rate their confidence on a scale from 1 (not confident) to 5 (very confident), 67.7% ranked it 4 or 5. Nobody ranked it as a 1.
Thank you to all the business owners and operators who responded to the survey!
If you have any questions, please contact:
Nick Wright
nick@nickwrightplanning.co.uk
07900 334110