This month, Stuart Mearns, director of place, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, writes about the importance of Local Place Plans in charting the future direction of the area.

A thriving community is not just about economic growth; it’s about creating sustainable, resilient places to live, work, and connect with nature.

A key priority, embedded in our National Park Partnership Plan, outlines how and why we must foster environments where daily needs can be met more locally, supported by access to services, jobs, homes and opportunities – working collaboratively to achieve a more positive, sustainable future for us all.

Our work with communities seeks to encourage and support engagement across the National Park on priority services and policies such as visitor management, climate resilience and adaptation, enhancing and restoring nature, sustainable transport, access, land use and planning.

We strive to understand the challenges communities face and work collaboratively to listen to and empower local voices in National Park Authority decision-making.

Local Place Plans (LPPs) are an excellent example of this partnership working in action.

Each plan contains the community’s proposals and provide an opportunity for communities to feed into decision making that affects their community, including the planning system.

They are more than just documents; they are living plans that increase community capacity, collaboration and enhance social capital. Eleven community-led Plans have been registered with us, including Arrochar and Tarbet, with more on the way, including Ardentinny - each one will over time inform our policies and ensuring that communities are at the forefront of our actions.

One innovative LPP is Lochgoilhead, which addresses land use change and nature restoration, demonstrating how local priorities can drive meaningful change.

This plan reflects the community's vision but can also foster collaboration with landowners to tackle climate challenges and enhance biodiversity. National Park Authority staff helped the community to prepare this plan, providing knowledge and resources on mapping, planning and nature restoration.

We recognise the hard work and dedication that goes into creating these plans by community volunteers. Thank you to everyone who has invested their time and expertise in this process. Your efforts are invaluable, and together, we can identify local actions and work towards a sustainable future.

As a National Park Authority will continue to support initiatives that promote community resilience and well-being.

We aim to cultivate a greener economy that enables residents to thrive in their local environments while protecting the natural landscapes we all treasure.

LPPs play a crucial role in shaping our next Local Development Plan, which will set out updated planning policies and proposals for the use and development of land across the National Park for the next 10 years - ensuring ideas and concerns of communities are represented.

We invite everyone in our communities to engage with us. Visit our website to explore registered LPPs or come by our headquarters to read hard copies. Your participation is essential as we all strive to work together to enhance community life, safeguarding our environment for generations to come.

For further information, please contact us at community.dev@lochlomond-trossachs.org. Your voice matters, and we look forward to hearing from you.