Luss Estates Company

West Loch Lomondside is an area of outstanding natural beauty, attracting visitors nationally and from across the globe. It is also a place to live and work, with rural communities striving to survive in a relatively remote and seasonally varying setting.

The opportunities and challenges associated with the area – in the context of development and land use planning – can easily appear in opposition. For example – when considering how to sustain local communities and develop business and employment opportunities, how does this fit with conserving and enhancing the outstanding natural beauty of The Park and meet the growing demands of climate change and the enhancement of biodiversity?

A balance needs to be found to the various tensions, that may (in some circumstances) demand thoughtful but considered compromise. What is essential however is to keep sight of the ultimate aim of sustaining life and prosperous communities across the Estate and wider Park setting.  Without such prosperity, communities will continue to dwindle, which ultimately could threaten their very existence.

This Plan aims to map a deliverable way forward to help support sustainable thriving communities, set within the outstanding natural beauty of West Loch Lomondside, whilst responding responsibly to the climate and biodiversity crisis.

Why is Luss Estates Company preparing a new Land Use & Development Plan?

In 2012, Luss Estates Company engaged a team of professional consultants to produce a Strategic Development Framework for the Estate. Ten years on, changes both within the communities, and in local and national planning context, make this the right time for Luss Estates Company to prepare a new ten year plan.

Some of these planning changes include:

National Planning Framework 4

National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) was adopted in Feb 2023. Decisions on planning in West Loch Lomondside will be made in accordance with NPF4 and Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park’s current Local Development Plan 2017-2021, with NPF4 taking precedence in instances where the two are not aligned on policy. The policies within NPF4 usher in significant change in the way things like biodiversity, community wealth building, and tourism, are considered at a planning level.

The National Park Partnership Plan 2024-29

Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park are consulting between April and July 2023 on their draft Partnership Plan for the period 2024-29. The plan guides how the Park, stakeholders, and partners, can work collaboratively towards a shared vision. Though the plan will be in place for a 5 year period, it sets out a long term vision, with climate and nature targets, for 2045.

The new Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park Local Development Plan 

A Development Plan Scheme (DPS) prepared by Loch Lomond and the the Trossachs National Park sets out the programme for preparing and reviewing the Local Development Plan (LDP). The DPS indicates the National Park will commence preparation of the next plan, which will be a 10 year plan (2024-2034), in 2023. By publishing our Estate Plan now, we want to positively influence the development of the new LDP for the communities and businesses of West Loch Lomondside.

Local Place Plans

Local Place Plans were introduced by the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019. This gives communities the right to produce their own plans as part of the new Scottish planning system. As the largest landowner in the area, Luss Estates Company has provided financial and logistical support to the two communities to enable them to prepare Local Place Plans. As of April 2023, plans have been published by both communities and submitted to the National Park, to be taken into consideration in preparation of the next LDP. You can read the Luss & Arden plan here, and the Arrochar, Tarbet & Ardlui plan here.

Our Landowner Responsibilities

In the development of this Land Use & Development Plan, Luss Estates Company has taken cognisence of the responsibilites set out on the owners and operators of large land holdings, by two principal sources of guidance: The Scottish Government’s Scottish Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement, and The Scottish Land Commission’s Protocols. Together these pieces of guidance present a comprehensive picture of the expectations placed on all landowners by the Scottish Government and Scottish Land Commission, and offer practical advice on how land owners, land managers and communities can work together to make better and fairer decisions about land use.

In preparation of this plan, we have carefully reflected on both the successes achieved and challenges encountered in the ten year period since completion of the last Development Framework.

Luss Estates Company has made progress in all four key areas of the 2013 Strategic Development Framework, and it is useful to consider the achievements of the Estate under these four headings.

Although the masterplan in the 2013 framework focussed on the village of Luss, some of the achievements in the ten year period also affect the communities in Tarbet, Arrochar, Helensburgh and Rhu.

This is especially true of the Luss Estates Company’s environmental work, which goes beyond just the settlements, and encompasses the entire estate.

Achievements in the last 10 years include:

It has been recognised since the preparation of the previous Development Framework in 2013, that Luss, and other communities in the region, are facing challenges associated with rural depopulation and ageing – both of which are having demonstrable impacts on services and businesses.

In preparation of this new Land Use & Development Plan, the Estate has engaged a specialist consultant Stantec to prepare a Socio-Economic Baseline Report. Additional evidence of change within the communities has been gathered at a granular local level by steering groups established in Luss & Arden, and in Arrochar, Tarbet & Ardlui to support the consultation process. Luss Estates Company would like to put on record its thanks to the two communities for undertaking this work and sharing the findings for inclusion in the Estate’s plan.

Here are some of the ways in which the context has changed:

During preparation of this Land Use & Development Plan, Luss Estates Company have undertaken an extensive programme of engagement, focused at three levels: with the community; with business owners and operators; and with key stakeholders.

Together, this engagement took place over roughly a year, from March 2022 until April 2023:

You can read the complete results of the two community consultations here:

Luss & Arden

Arrochar, Tarbet & Ardlui

Some key messages emerged from the first round of community & business consultation feedback in both communities:

Luss Estates Company will continue to support communities across the estate, and to this end is seeking to align as closely as possible the aims of the Estate’s Plan with those of the two Local Place Plans.

The proposals set out below are grouped by the same themes that emerged from the consultation. This is to ensure the Plan can be read alongside the Local Place Plans, and to ensure the journey from consultation to proposals is clear.

Most of the sites referenced in the proposals are owned by Luss Estates Company. However, the proposals also make reference to sites that are not in our ownership, particularly in Arrochar and Tarbet. These sites will be developed by others, but are included because their development potential directly influences and is influenced by the development of Luss Estates Company’s own sites.

Following the grouping of proposals by theme, two sections: ‘a vision for Luss & Arden’; and ‘a vision for Arrochar & Tarbet’, consider the potential positive benefit of the proposals collectively.

The Environment

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At this stage, we’d like to invite any comments you might have on the ‘environment’ proposals, which together make up the ‘land use’ part of our plan.

Please continue below. You’ll have the opportunity to comment on the following slides together in the next section – ‘feedback’.

Life in the Community

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Homes & Population

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Visitors

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Jobs & Business

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Getting About

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Thank you for taking the time to look through our draft proposals. We’ve grouped these by theme, but before we invite feedback on the proposals, we would like to share our joined-up vision for each place.

In Luss & Arden

This is the second ten-year plan produced by Luss Estates Company that includes the village of Luss itself. A lot has been achieved by the Estate and community together in that first period, and it’s vital that this new Land Use & Development Plan carries on the work already set in motion, while at the same time bringing forward provident proposals on land use appropriate to a ten-year plan . The following spread presents the proposals with commentary, as three stages:

1. The continuation of efforts to protect the village core

2. Taking new steps to deflect visitors away from the core, allowing the community some respite, and room for growth, and

3. Being proactive in planning ahead

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In Arrochar & Tarbet

The vision here is different. It brings together: proposals for land owned by Luss Estates Company; proposals we believe to be underway by others (the National Park’s proposal for Tarbet Pier, and Argyll & Bute Council’s £1.2m car park upgrade in Tarbet); infrastructure upgrades likely to progress in the next 10 years (by Transport Scotland and Network Rail); proposals at different stages by three significant private landowners – the owner of sites in Tarbet, the Arrochar Pier, and the former Torpedo Station; and other significant properties (the Tarbet Hotel and the Claymore Hotel in Arrochar).

Luss Estates Company only makes up a small piece of this puzzle, but we also believe that our commitment to helping the community establish a significant ‘Community Fund’, (linked to commercial investment) together with some external funding, might be one way – and the quickest way – of reversing the long-term trend of under-investment in Arrochar & Tarbet, giving the community the tools to make the aims of their Local Place Plan happen, without depending on the public purse.

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Thank you for reading, and letting us know what you think.

We would like to hear your feedback, so please fill out the forms above and let us know what you think. Once the consultation has closed we’ll analyse the feedback and make any appropriate updates before submitting our Land Use & Development Plan to the Park.

After that, there are some clear next steps for us to take. We plan to:

1. Work with the National Park, Argyll & Bute Council, Transport Scotland, Local housing associations and other statutory bodies to develop the principles,

2. Find the right economic model to help us deliver landscape scale change,

3. Start delivering on our actions, and

4. Support the aspirations of the two communities and their Local Place Plans.