The Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park have unveiled a series of measures to try and curb problems caused by a small number of visitors to the park. This will include a ban on wild camping in a number of hot spots where litter, human waste and anti-social behaviour has become a problem. The Park plans to provide a number of informal camping areas with toilets and ban wild camping from specific areas on the east shore of Loch Lomond, around Loch Venachar and near Luss.The Park is one of the most visited rural areas of Scotland with over 3.5 million visitors every year. The area also generates an estimated £247 million for the economy per annum and the National Park Authority (NPA) is looking to put in place long term solutions that will help conserve this special area of Scotland.
Fiona Logan, Chief Executive of the NPA, said: “Our success in encouraging large numbers of people to visit the Park has led to a number of issues that the NPA and partners need to resolve including informal camping, litter, toileting and traffic management.
“There are also the problems of excess – the extreme issues caused by a minority of people resulting in a range of anti-social behaviours including drunkenness, vandalism, criminal damage, assault and vehicular trespass that we wish to reduce through increased management.”
Amongst the initiatives being introduced by the NPA to deal with these issues are plans for informal campsites with toilet and litter facilities backed by camping byelaws excluding camping from certain areas.
The NPA plan to initially trial the initiative in three key areas – East Loch Lomond, Loch Venacher / Lubnaig and Luss.
The Authority is also tackling the issues presented by the volume of traffic within the Park and will be considering measures to reduce traffic and car park congestion at peak times.
Fiona was joined by Richard Lochhead MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Environment, on his first visit to Scotland’s first National Park as she unveiled the plans for the future.
Richard Lochhead MSP, said: “Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park is one of Scotland’s most spectacular assets and an area of astounding natural beauty. There are many visitors during the summer months which has put considerable pressure on the area over the years. So it is essential we all pay due respect to the area when visiting.
“I understand the National Park Board is taking an innovative approach towards large visitor numbers and tackling the anti-social behaviour of a small minority. With a Ranger patrol boat to enforce navigation byelaws already in place, they are now planning to concentrate their efforts on the lochside, building on the success of the wider “Respect the Park “ initiative and its partnership working with Police forces and Forestry Commission Scotland.
“And with the introduction of Special Constables plus extra Ranger patrols they have helped to ensure that everyone can enjoy their visit to the fullest. I commend the Park for this forward-thinking approach to improving the visitor experience and look forward to coming back in the next few years to see even more progress on the ground.”
The importance of partnership working for the future of the park was also emphasised by Fiona. She said: “Partnership working is critical for the development of long term solutions within the National Park. Many of the solutions and delivery will be by commercial operators, the community and public sector partners whether this is investing in services, running campsites, maintaining facilities or developing new attractions at sites.
“The success of this approach can already be seen through initiatives such as Operation Ironworks in partnership with Central Scotland Police and the Biodiversity Action Plan with the Forestry Commission.”
Fiona summed up: “We are currently investing £2 million in visitor management in 2009 and we are taking action to put in place long term solutions that deal with this range of issues and will lead to a step change to the visitor experience in the Park.
“The NPA is leading on new and innovative solutions that we hope will ensure that Loch Lomond & The Trossachs remains a first class visitor destination for many years to come with a level of facilities that meet the high expectations of visitors.”