A derelict former torpedo testing site should be a focus for regeneration of the Arrochar area, a new report has said.
It is five years since planning permission was granted for a 130-bed hotel, pus houses and holiday accommodation at the site.
That permission has now lapsed, with politicians and residents becoming increasingly frustrated as the derelict site on Loch Long becomes plagued by flytipping.
A report to Argyll and Bute Council’s Helensburgh and Lomond area committee says that previously the main priorities for Arrochar were seen as dealing with waterborne litter and building a new viewpoint.
But the report by executive director of development and infrastructure services Pippa Milne says that Marine Scotland is now taking the lead on litter, with £0.5m awarded by the Scottish Government.
The viewpoint would be sited at the junction of the A83 and A814, but a feasibility study ‘resulted in mixed responses, with notable concerns raised over siting, design, height, parking and access’.
Ms Milne’s report argues that changes in design would not be enough to quell the concerns and that an alternative location would be better.
Instead, she says that the former torpedo range, on a prominent site beside the A83, is ‘the area of Arrochar at this point in time where projects and regeneration development officer resource would most usefully be directed’.
She adds: “To date, discussion has been mainly in relation to the unkempt nature of the derelict site and the attempts to curb fly tipping and antisocial behaviour.
“There is therefore significant need to make a concerted effort to try and stimulate the redevelopment potential of the site, with a longer term view to seeing the area improved and the wider economic growth potential boosted.”
Sorry, but this is nonsense. I suspect the reason this was not followed through was because the developers had another look at it. I had a brief spell working on that site and the thing that sticks in the mind is that it is isolated. It is beyond easy waling distance from Arrochar and while there is a small area of useable land it is no better than many other parts of the coastline.
Arrochar does needs development, and, like all of the small towns and villages throughout Argyll, it would benefit from new sources of interest and employment. A more sensible place is the area which is currently used as a car park for walkers at the foot of the Cobbler near Succoth. This is much closer and might bring real benefits to it rather than being a closed community that would bring little to the traders in the village.
You can be sure that if Argyll and Bute Council are on the case,Arrochar will be at the top of the list for any redevelopment.