PROPOSALS for commercial boat tours in Arrochar have been turned down by planning chiefs due to concerns over parking in the village.
The Loch Long Boat Cruise venture, put forward by Brendan and Nicola Thomson, would have seen a small vessel operate from the pontoon which was installed on the foreshore and officially opened to the public in 2019.
Non-profit charity the Loch Long Jetty Association (LLJA), which owns and manages the pontoon, submitted an application for an extension of its commercial use to the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority in February last year, and notice of its refusal has now been published online.
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In a supporting statement for the application, the LLJA said: “The proposed business would provide trips of Loch Long primarily for sight-seeing purposes.
“As a charity we are in favour of this proposal, as it would both benefit the community, and also contribute to our essential running costs.
“In discussion with Mr and Mrs Thomson we have agreed that it is anticipated that the majority of the passengers will already be holidaying in the village and as such will arrive at the pontoon on foot. The primary target customer will be those already in the area in hotel and guest house accommodation.”
When permission was granted for the pontoon in 2017, a condition was imposed restricting its commercial use “to ensure that the development does not cause parking and traffic flow problems in the vicinity of the development and to ensure that any further commercial use of the pontoon is subject to formal control by the Planning Authority in order to safeguard the amenities of the area”.
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The LLJA said it had entered into an arrangement with the Arrochar and Tarbet Community Development Trust and their Three Villages Hall management committee to permanently have available four car parking spaces in the Village Hall car park for the use of boat tour passengers.
However, planning officials noted that parking issues remained a major sticking point.
The report of handling states: “[Argyll and Bute Council’s roads department] officer commented that, in the last year, parking issues near the jetty have been very difficult to manage, and exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
“It was suggested that any permission granted could be temporary to take account of the short-term lease and to allow the parking to be reviewed at a later date.
“The applicant did bring forward a draft legal agreement but the roads authority commented that it did not ensure that the spaces would be signed and secured, and the lease would only be short-term (until October 2024), raising concerns about the long-term availability of the spaces.”
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From eight representations, three objections were received and five in support of the application.
Among the objections raised was a complaint that the proposal “will adversely impact on residential amenity in terms of noise, littering, anti-social behaviour and the use of the beach and culvert as a toilet”.
However, the planning officer said: “It is not considered that the use of the pontoon for regular boat tours would impact on residential amenity (excluding the parking and access issues addressed above). It is likely that a more permanent presence on the pontoon would result in less of the anti-social behaviour issues.”
Dr Norman Gourlay, on behalf of the Loch Long Jetty Association, said the organisation was “minded to appeal the decision”.
A statement added: “The original planning agreement to allow us to construct the pontoon at Arrochar forbade us from carrying out, or agreeing to, any commercial operations from the pontoon.
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“The LLJA was approached in 2019 by a couple who wished to operate a small boat tour craft, a maximum of four times per day from our pontoon, during the tourist season. The LLJA thought that this was an exceedingly good idea which would enhance the facilities available in Arrochar.
“We also believed that such a small increase in tourism potential for Arrochar met many of the specified aims of the National Park for enhancing the use of water resources within the area.
“The planning department has turned down our application solely on the grounds that the roads department do not believe that we have adequately secured four [car parking] spaces.
“They are concerned that drivers other than boat tour operatives may use the spaces if the only thing stopping them doing so is signage and occasional monitoring by the [Three Villages] Hall and the boat tour operators.
“Despite various requests the roads department have not expressed to us what level of security they envisage being required. Neither the Three Villages Hall nor the LLJA have the means to man these four spaces continually.
“We are very disappointed at the approach being adopted by the roads department. We note that no other private car park in the village of Arrochar is secured by any other means than signage.”
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