European Championships Planning Application
The European Open Water Swimming Championships, part of Glagsow 2018 – a brand new multi-sport event being co-hosted with Berlin this August- is being broadcast to a potential TV audience of up to 1 billion will attract visitors to the area, boosting the local economy.
An event of this scale requires the organisers to put in place a significant amount of infrastructure to operate both the sporting competition as well as the spectating and broadcasting that come with it.
A planning application has now been submitted by the Glasgow 2018 event organisers outlining their schedule for putting this infrastructure in place.
As a result of the event infrastructure, there will be some disruption affecting access to the Duncan Mills Memorial Slipway. We let loch users know earlier this year that this would be the case and have been working closely with the Glasgow 2018 team to confirm the details of any disruption and limit impact as much as we can.
The construction of the infrastructure will begin from 23rd July and remain in place until 19th August. Access to at least one slipway will be available during this period, except for the five day competition period between Wednesday 8th August and Sunday 12th August when no launching or retrieval will be possible from the slipway. Closure is always a last resort but is the safest option for an event of this scale.
Between 23rd July and 7th August, and 12th to 19th August, loch users will be able to launch as usual but will not be able to park their boat trailers in the usual place. Instead they will be directed to the Loch Lomond Shores overflow car park from where a shuttle bus will be provided to bring them back to the slipway to their boat. The shuttle service will also be there for them to pick up their trailers for retrieval from the loch.
Further details of the shuttle service and traffic management measures are being agreed with Glasgow 2018 event organisers and will be publicised closer to the time.
We know that the loch is a popular place for many different people and we aim to strike the balance between the needs of everyone whilst also keeping people safe.
TV viewers across the continent will get the chance to see the beauty of Loch Lomond and The National Park through coverage of Open Water Swimming while local residents and sports fans can watch the sporting action on their doorsteps – for free.
A family-friendly day of music, street theatre and entertainment is also being held to complement the European Championship swimming events. Festival 2018: Balloch Loch Lomond on Saturday 11th August will be a great mix of local artists, community groups and international performers who will entertain local residents and visitors in our world-class setting.
You can view the planning application here (ref2018/0131/DET)
To find about more about the European Championships go to https://www.glasgow2018.com/