TWO community groups for Loch Lomond are tirelessly campaigning against planned upgrade works to the A82.

Members of the Helensburgh and District Access Trust (HADAT) and conservation charity The Friends of Loch Lomond and The Trossachs (FOLLAT) groups lodged a petition with the Scottish Parliament in September 2022.

The petition urges ministers to “reconsider the process for selecting the preferred option for the planned upgrade of the A82 between Tarbet and Inveraranan".

It states that the Scottish Government’s preferred option for improving the route is to create a ‘low road’, which campaigners say was decided “without full and comprehensive cost benefit analysis of all options”.

Both groups would prefer a ‘high road’ created on the stretch, saying it would include 17 kilometres of the old road, ancient oak woods, sections of historic General Wade’s Road and unspoilt shoreline preserved, allowing wildlife to thrive and reconnect with the loch.

The 'high road' would also see Tarbet and Ardlui by-passed by heavy traffic, improving quality of life for residents and alleviating road safety issues in the villages and at Arrochar Primary School.

Campaigners are now encouraging people in Helensburgh and Lomond to sign the petition to safeguard the section, with 766 signatures added at the time this article was published.

On Wednesday, November 27, the Scottish Parliament’s Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee will again consider the petition.

Professor Lynne Pearce, of Lancaster University and author of Britain’s Changing Roadscapes, has backed the petition.

She said: "The A82 along Loch Lomond regularly tops surveys of ‘Best British Drives’, with the turn-off at Tarbet experienced by many drivers as the ‘gateway to the highlands’.

"However, rather less attention has been paid to the recreational and cultural significance of the road for the generations of day-trippers for whom the woodlands, beaches and viewpoints along the northern shores of the loch hold special memories and, arguably, a claim to stewardship.”

John Urquhart, chair of FOLLOT, said: “Huge damage was already done to the oakwood lined western shoreline of Loch Lomond south of Tarbet in the 1980’s road widening.

"Now, in these times of global warming, the last thing that should be happening is to inflict further damage to the shoreline woods north of Tarbet.

“The Petitions Committee has yet to fulfil its promise to visit the loch so they can see for themselves what we are talking about. I am hoping they do so this time."

The petition will be considered by the committee at its meeting at the Scottish Parliament on November 27.

To view the full history of the petition visit the Scottish Parliament website and search PE1967.