Friends continue to make a difference on the A82 in Scotland

Volunteers from JP Morgan & AECOM turned out on a rainy Wednesday 3rd of June morning to try to reduce the litter which continues to gather along the shores of Loch Lomond.

The event was organised by The Friends of Loch Lomond and The Trossachs (FOLLATT), a long established conservation charity which operates in and around Scotland’s busiest National Park, and was assisted by the Grab Trust who provided the litter picking equipment.

Their Chairman, John Urquhart, told That's Green: “This, our second Make a Difference (MAD) event of 2026, concentrated once again on tackling the ongoing problem of littering which blights the loch side along the busy A82 between Arden and Ardlui. 

"We were especially keen to see how the removal of our lay-by bins was impacting the situation and were initially heartened to note that the lay-bys and intervening verges were generally quite presentable. 

"However, as we feared, the cleanliness was only superficial, as it quickly became clear that a substantial number of people were once again disposing of litter by throwing it into the undergrowth.

"Enquiries revealed a workforce from Argyll and Bute had indeed carried out a litter clearance operation of the road a few weeks ago, as they normally do at the start of the tourist season, but it was obvious to us this had not been an in-depth operation.

"Sadly, this just reaffirms our view that the two responsible authorities, Argyll and Bute and The National Park are continuing to neglect their duty to tackle this important issue effectively.

Meanwhile it looks like our hard-working volunteers are going to have to keep turning out to do their best to keep the bonnie banks looking their best.”

Mr Urquhart added that he wished to thank the Lodge on Loch Lomond Hotel for hosting the event and supplying FOLLAT’s somewhat damp volunteers with a delicious snack at the end of the event.

https://www.lochlomondtrossachs.org.uk

Incidentally, That's Green has launched a nationwide initiative some under the title "Don't Be a Sinner, Be a Binner!"

It calls for everyone to do their part in helping to ensure that bins are used for rubbish and that our environment is kept clean. Discarded rubbish and trash can kill pets and wildlife so it's not merely a matter of discarded items looking a mess.  

If you follow this link to the blogpost you will find useful resources and advice on how to help to be a binner and not a sinner.

https://thatsgreen.blogspot.com/2026/03/dont-be-sinner-be-binner.html

Saving Loch Lomond? - Loch Lomond conservation charity forced to withdraw litter bins.

A spokesman for the independent conservation charity Friends of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs told That's Green: "As Ross Greer trumpets that his Green Party has, “saved Loch Lomond”, we must announce we can no longer sustain our “Keep the Banks Bonnie” litter management scheme."

The charity’s Chairman, John Urquhart, said: “Five years ago, in an effort to better manage the dreadful littering of the A82 along Loch Lomondside the Friends used a “Covid Recovery” grant to install 20 litter bins in laybys between Arden and Tarbet.

"Since then annual management and servicing costs of around £30k (inclusive of a 12.5% increase from the service provider in 2026) have been met by local businesses, plus some limited support from the National Park and Argyll and Bute Council, but it has been proving more and more difficult to raise the business sponsorship necessary to keep the scheme going and this year’s refusal by the National Park and Argyll and Bute to give any support at all means we have had to withdraw it."

(The map shows the businesses which have supported the scheme in the past, most notably Luss Estates Co., which has always borne the lion’s share of the sponsorship burden.)

He went on to say: "We are very disappointed that Argyll and Bute Council and the National Park were not prepared to make any contribution to our efforts to help them discharge their duty to keep the A82 clear of litter. 

"Splitting the cost three ways, a contribution of only £10k each from Argyll and Bute and the National Park would have secured the scheme for another year and would have represented good value for the public purse. Of course, if they would shoulder the job themselves, it would cost so much less. Reluctantly, the decision was made on Monday to remove the bins from service as the financial burden on the charity became unsustainable.”

https://www.lochlomondtrossachs.org.uk

Loch Lomond Banks Refusal of Planning Application. Charity Speaks Out

A spokesman for Friends of Loch Lomond and The Trossachs said: "Regarding Land at Pier Road, Ben Lomond Way and Old Luss Road, Known as West Riverside and Woodbank House, Balloch, G83 8QX

"Erection And Operation Of A Mixed-Use Tourism And Leisure Development Including Refurbished Tourist Information Building; Up To 60-Bedroom Apartment Hotel; Up To 32-Bedspace Budget Hotel, Up To 104 No. Self-Catering Holiday Lodges; Restoration And Redevelopment/Conversion Of Woodbank House And Attendant Listed Structures For Up To 21 Self-Catering Holiday Apartments (Subject To Other Necessary Consents); Leisure Pool, Waterpark, Spa; Restaurants, Hot Food Cafe And Retail Areas; Craft Brewery Inc

"As a long-established independent conservation charity which works in and around the LL&T national Park, we have consistently supported this planning application because it has always been clear to us that with its minimal frontage on the loch, the site’s previous planning history of being zoned for leisure and recreation and its situation within an existing envelope of development, it would have zero negative impact on the special qualities of Loch Lomond and its wider surrounding area. 

"On the contrary, it would help to absorb the visitor pressures which already exist elsewhere and has the capacity to deliver many conservation and economic benefits to the area.

Their Chairman, John Urquhart (PICTURED) told That's Green: “We are disappointed, but not much surprised by Mr McKee’s decision to refuse the Lomond Banks planning application -conveniently before the Holyrood elections in May, in what we suspect is a politically motivated gambit which stands against good sense and all the planning evidence.

“The Green Party has very successfully turned this planning application into a political football, with “Saving Loch Lomond’ never being much about the merits of the planning facts, but much more about whipping up a sensational vote catching narrative. 

"However, Mr Greer’s trumpeting of success may be premature as the ancient woodland and flooding grounds for refusal cited by Mr McKee are weak and will not stand up to legal analysis should the developer decide to follow the court option which is now open to them.

"There is almost no ancient woodland on the site, most of it having been cleared well before the 19th Century. A remaining agricultural shelter belt was mostly removed during the mid-20th Century by sand and gravel excavation. 

"Ironically, what has saved the fragmentary narrow strip that now remains is the INEOS Finnart-Grangemouth oil pipelines which cross the site. The woodland whicTheh has colonised the former caravan site, rail yards and sand pits is recent. 

"It is nonetheless one of the site’s primary assets which the developer wants to retain with compensatory planting nearby or onsite to make up for any trees lost agreed at the detail stage, because, after all, the application was always only an outline proposal. The same goes for the flooding issue. 

"Most of the site is above maximum flood levels and mitigation measures for anything built lower down could readily have been developed at the detail stage.

"It is a great pity there has been so little exploration of the many economic, heritage and habitat benefits which could and should flow from such a proposal. The National Park’s planners have seemed largely blind to that, and the scheme’s huge potential has never been properly examined. Instead, many people have swallowed the populist “Save Loch Lomond” bait, including it seems, the National Park’s Board.

"In an effort to insert some balance, we outline here some examples of the kind of “planning gain” which would have been (and may yet be) available if only there was some leadership, ambition, imagination and, dare we say it, partnership.

They include:

Considerable local economic benefit including many good quality jobs during construction and then long-term operation of the business. Increased footfall would also benefit struggling Lomond Shores, Balloch and Alexandria retail and eatery businesses. Conservation of Woodbank House’s 18th century façade. Improved woodland management. 

"Promotion of Red Squirrel population versus Grey. Rewilding of Stoneymollan Burn. Support for conservation efforts around Paddle Steamer Maid of The Loch and its heritage slipway, steam winch and Balloch Pier. Conservation of Old Balloch Station. Existing woodland walks lit and maintained. Re-established public transport link between Balloch and Balloch Pier. Strengthening of woodland wildlife corridors around southern end of Loch Lomond. 

"Former (now disused) Gateway Centre repurposed to provide wet weather/indoor sports facilities for Lomond Banks residents (and the public). Facilitated by a bridge or ferry connection to Lomond Shores at Balloch Pier, repurposing of disused Balloch Castle as a café, shop, interpretation and visitor information centre. Assistance with efforts to improve peak time traffic flows at local A82 pinch points. Substantial tourism levy income to the local authority.

"It is highly unlikely any of these developments will ever occur without this kind of development”

For more information on rewilding the Stoneymollan Burn, see page 13 of the latest edition of their magazine, “Voice”, available online at https://www.lochlomondtrossachs.org.uk/voice-magazine

Planning Hurdle Cleared for Sloy Pumped Storage Project

The Friends of Loch Lomond and The Trossachs, the independent charity that works to protect, promote and provide for the conservation of the National Park area’s special qualities, has welcomed news that Scottish and Southern’s Sloy pumped storage project near Tarbet on Loch Lomond has cleared an important planning hurdle.

Tarbet resident Duncan MacLachlan, who is one of the charity’s trustees told That's Green: “We're very pleased to see that the plans to redevelop the Sloy Power Station as a Pumped Storage facility have gone through the National Park’s planning processes successfully.

"The Section 36 category of the application has still to be assessed, but we are confident the Scottish Government will give approval, especially considering the valuable contribution the project will make to the country’s capacity to store surplus renewable solar and wind energy, providing stability for the national power distribution grid and boosting energy security. 

"As well as enhancing the status of Sloy Power Station’s iconic Modernist Classical building, it should also bring some much-needed economic benefit for the local community.”

https://www.lochlomondtrossachs.org.uk

Appeal to keep the Banks of Loch Lomond Looking Bonnie

Everyone loves Loch Lomond. Its principal access, the A82, is under huge pressure simply because the loch is so beautiful and because it's so accessible from Scotland’s Central belt. Annually, carrying six million vehicles, it's also the gateway to the country’s first and foremost National Park as well as to Argyll and the West Highlands.

In the spring of 2021, with the help of Green Recovery funding, the Friends of Loch Lomond & The Trossachs co-ordinated a hugely successful visitor management project on a partnership basis with local community and tourism business groups and with the support of landowners and agencies. This project to promote more responsible tourism comprised of a seasonal village warden service covering Arrochar and Tarbet, temporary toilets at Duck Bay and Arrochar (supplied by Honeywagon Co) and the siting of 20 bins in laybys along the busy 13-mile tourist corridor between Arden and Tarbet. 

In May 2022 the “Adopt a Bonnie Banks Bin Scheme” was launched and this innovative scheme has continued throughout 2023, making a huge difference to the overall appearance of the busy stretch of the A82 with circa 20 tons of litter uplifted each year and the result being that people now treat the area with more respect.

The Friends would like to thank the National Park Authority, Luss Estates, and local businesses, specifically The Lodge on Loch Lomond, Duck Bay Hotel & Restaurant, Cruise Loch Lomond, Forest Holidays, Lochs & Glens Hotels, Sweeney’s Cruises and The Slanj Bar & Restaurant for sponsoring the Bonnie Banks Bin scheme this year.

The Friends are looking to assemble a funding package to continue the scheme during 2024 and are delighted that several of this year’s sponsors have already pledged support again. The cost to run the bin scheme is anticipated to be £35,000 - £40,000 and more sponsors are needed in order to reach this funding goal. 

The Friends would like to appeal to individuals and businesses who are interested in participating in the scheme by sponsoring a bin to contact them at info@lochlomondtrossachs.org.uk or by calling Jennifer, their Project Support Officer on 07496 433134. The Friends would be delighted to have your support in helping to keep the banks of Loch Lomond looking bonnie!