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

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