Loch Long is possibly the filthiest loch in Scotland, but Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority has approved a major mixed-use tourism development at the former Ministry of Defence torpedo testing station in Arrochar in Argyll & Bute.

This decision marks positive progress towards bringing this large derelict site back into positive use, which has long been a blight on the landscape and wider community, according to the Park Authirity planning committee chairperson. 

The 11-hectare site has lain largely derelict since the torpedo station ceased operations in 1986, having opened in 1912. As a result of decades of inactivity, the site on the banks of Loch Long has become an ongoing source of frustration for residents, attracting fly-tipping, littering and anti-social behaviour despite the landowner’s steps to secure the site. 

It was once a favourite camp site for residents of Glasgow, Dumbarton and Vale of Leven, particularly during Dumbarton Fair, which was the first two weeks of July. 

The loch shore beneath Whistlefield was where campers went to collect large mussels – locally known as clabbies dhub – and fish for mackeral and rock cod.

However, the loch has become seriously polluted in recent years and there have been delegations of residents lobbying the Dumbarton constituency MSP Jackie Baillie and former Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham to have it cleaned up.

An application for a fish farm with innovative, state of the art equipment appears to have been swallowed up by planning laws and local government red tape and gone silent.

Loch Longside is also a refuelling station at Glen Malloch for the Royal Navy’s two giant carriers, the Prince of Wales and the Queen Elizabeth II, tankers from the Royal Auxiliary Fleet and other MoD vessels.

The BP oil terminal at Finnart from which fuel was pumped underground to the now closed refinery at Grangmouth was also located in Loch Long.

And there is the HM Naval Base at Coulport plus the arms storage depot at Glen Douglas.

But the sheer filth that washes up on the foreshore near Arrochar would be a dangerous place for wild swimming or even anglers to become involved in leisure pursuits.

Proposed by the applicant Ardnagal Estates, the development includes 14 holiday homes, 34 holiday lodges, a 34-bedroom hotel, 20 glamping pods, 6 motorhome pitches, an outdoor play area, and associated parking and native landscaping. The development aims to deliver a range of accommodation and leisure services that will complement and enhance existing provision in the area, without placing pressure on the surrounding landscape, biodiversity or local infrastructure.

Claire Chapman, Planning & Access Committee Chair, said: “The approval of this long-standing derelict site’s redevelopment is a significant step forward in addressing what has been a blight on both the local community and the environment. The site has been identified in both the existing Local Development Plan, which guides new development in the National Park, and in the community’s Local Place Plan.  

“Permission for this application also secures commitments from the developer to protect and enhance the site’s natural environment, ensuring the area’s landscape and environmental sensitivities are safeguarded for the long term, and will help bring the site back into positive use. That is a very welcome outcome for people, and for nature.” 

Biodiversity will be meaningfully improved through the removal of invasive non-native plant species, such as Himalayan balsam and Japanese knotweed and extensive native planting. The development will also open up public and community access to the loch through a revitalised pier, and new leisure services, including a play park will add family-friendly amenity for residents and visitors. The site’s location also makes it well-placed to encourage visitors to explore beyond the busiest parts of the Park, helping to ease congestion around some of the most popular hotspots while extending the benefits of sustainable tourism across the Park.  

The development reflects priorities identified by residents through their own Local Place Plan – demonstrating community-led planning delivering tangible, place-based positive change for people and nature in the National Park.  

The delivery of the proposed development is now for the applicant to drive forward. The National Park Authority’s approval is subject to a Section 75 legal agreement and a number of conditions to ensure all planning requirements are met in this sensitive location.  

Top of page: Protesters gather on the shores of Loch Long to object to plans for a fish farm there.