Charrette Day 2 – turning the vision into reality

We had another busy day in Balloch on Tuesday (1st March), with a good chat at the lunchtime drop-in session and another well-attended evening workshop.  If you want to catch up on what went on at the first session, read this blog.

The dust is settling and we are gathering our thoughts. For the design team, it has been refreshing to hear that everyone is already quite clear what needs to be done. This session focused in on three key areas:

• West of the River,
• East of the River (including Balloch castle and Country Park) and
• the Centre of Balloch.

Here are the slides we presented on the night, and we’ve provided a summary of the discussion that took place.

 

We’re really keen to hear a wide range of views on this so even if you couldn’t make it along to the event we would encourage you to look at the ideas outlined below and the slides we presented and let us know what you like or don’t like.

What else should be considered? Share you thoughts on our Facebook page.

West of the River

The discussion on West of the River was all about how to create a stronger link between Loch Lomond Shores and the train station and village.

A river’s edge walkway could be a fantastic addition to Balloch. A range of options were presented to generate thoughts on what it should look and feel like.

The common consensus on the night was to retain a green feel, be more selective with tree planting and have plenty of activity.

What do you think? We are keen to hear more views so join the discussion on Facebook here.

East of the River

Looking East of the River and we find Balloch Castle and Park, a fantastic asset for Balloch that is currently being underutilised.

The first focus for discussion was means to make it easier to get to. Should there be a footbridge where the river meets the loch to link Loch Lomond Shores, the pier and the castle?

It would create a direct route, a walkable loop for visitors and potentially an iconic viewpoint for the loch and for Balloch. But feasibility to do with boat movements, local ground conditions, the risk that visitors could skip the village altogether and of course cost meant that there were many people who felt it wasn’t a good idea. Other ideas included water taxis, a small bus and improving the areas both sides of the river so that it is a more pleasant walk

What do you think?  Join the discussion by sharing your thoughts over on our Facebook page.

The second focus was on the castle itself and potential uses. Suggestions included a wedding venue, cafe and opportunity for social enterprise – given that the castle is likely to need grant funding for any initiative.

The Centre of Balloch

And finally, the centre of Balloch – how can we make it feel more like a village? We discussed where people feel the centre of Balloch is and how it can be improved for visitors and residents.

The Charrette team have a week to think about everything we’ve heard and draw up ideas and proposals that the Balloch community can assess and develop on day 3 of the Charrette next Wednesday 9th March.

In the meantime, get involved on Facebook, we want to hear what you think especially if you couldn’t make it along to the events.

We hope as many people as possible can make it along to next week’s charrette event (on Wednesday 9th March from 7-9pm).

Look out for a teaser of our thinking before Wednesday.

Thanks,

Lisa and the LIVE in Balloch charrette team