End of week 5 blog (Only 1 week left of consultation!)

It was good to speak with people from the local area and great to see people who had travelled from Glasgow after spotting details of the event on Facebook. We’re pleased to know that social media is helping us to engage with more people! For the Buchanan area, the Plan itself and the supplementary planning guidance for South Buchanan were of most interest to people. The Plan sets out the core planning policies and proposed development sites throughout the Park that will direct development in the area and the associated supplementary guidance provides more detail on certain topics like housing and placemaking and design.  People were keen to discuss many of the sites in the area including opportunities for new housing, Balmaha boatyard, Buchanan Castle, Buchanan golf course and the former quarry site in Buchanan Castle.

Tom Weir Statue in Balmaha (click on the image to enlarge)

On Thursday 18 June we were at the 3 Villages Hall in Arrochar for a drop in session and Community Council meeting. It was a very busy two hours in the Hall in which residents showed support for the types of development Proposed in the Plan, but showed concerns that it may be difficult to deliver them on the ground.  Key concerns raised were flooding and road access which may act as a barrier to development.  There were also concerns over the proposed housing allocation in Tarbet over the potential loss of woodland and road safety.

Back in the office, we’ve been having a bit of fun preparing for our youth engagement sessions with Balfron, Hermitage and McLaren High Schools. As ever, we hugely enjoy working with young people in and around the National Park and are constantly inspired by their views, ideas and energy.

Plan It game (click on the image to enlarge)

This time we’re trying out an interactive ‘Plan-It’ game (created by Architecture and Design Scotland) designed to generate discussion on development and land use. This dovetails with the current consultation on the proposed local development plan so it’s an excellent way to foster and engender understanding of the development plan process and to highlight the opportunities, and challenges, faced when planning for the future of the National Park and its communities. More on this in next week’s blog…

Lastly, please note that this is the final stage of consultation in the process of preparing a new development plan for the Park.

Representations can be made online or using the representation form. The consultation closes at 5pm on Monday 29 June.