ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
THE East Loch Lomond Community Trust (ELLCT) AGM will take place at Buchanan Memorial Hall, Milton of Buchanan on Wednesday 26 April at 7.30pm.
As well as the formal AGM business, this public meeting will give attendees the opportunity to find out more about current projects.
ELLCT membership can be renewed – or taken out – online or in-person at the AGM.
Note: although all welcome to attend, only members can vote.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING (BALMAHA)
A MEANINGFUL start has been made at Balmaha’s affordable housing site to safeguard planning permission.
Rural Stirling Housing Association (RSHA) has so far been unable to engage a contractor for the construction within the current budget despite generous Scottish Government support. Extra funding possibilities, re-evaluation of the number of properties and re-design are some of the factors being considered to progress the project.
BALMAHA CAR PARK – COMMUNITY ASSET TRANSFER (CAT) REQUEST
STIRLING Council has just requested a sixth extension to the legal decision date regarding this CAT. The ‘new’ date is 31 July 2023.
Notwithstanding previous ‘extended’ deadlines relating to the the request, the initial legal decision date was 6 December 2021.
Thanks to support from the Scottish Government-funded Community Ownership Support Service (COSS) ongoing discussions with Stirling Council have led to instruction for a joint valuation of the car park by the district valuer (DV) which is due by 5 May.
STRATEGIC TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT (STID)
LOCH Lomond & the Trossachs National Park engaged consultants to create a masterplan for East Loch Lomond centred around sustainable tourism, net zero carbon emissions and active travel.
Balmaha has been identified as a key hub and following an invitation from the community, members of the project team will be on hand to provide information and discuss the potential projects at the community table sale on Saturday 15 April at Buchanan Memorial Hall (10am-4pm).
CATTERBURN BRIDGE (CROFTAMIE)
THE most recent update from Stirling Council and the contractor is that one lane is due to be open by 27 April and two lanes by the end of May.
At the update meeting ELLCT secretary enquired about a potential community benefit project to compensate for the disruption caused by the road closure. The contractor undertook to assess what works could be done to upgrade part of the footpath between Milton of Buchanan and Auchengyle.
LOCAL PLACE PLAN
THE group working on the local place plan will circulate an online survey towards the end of April. Paper copies will be available at the AGM.
The local information gathered will feed into LLNTP’s partnership plan.
EAST LOCH LOMOND VISITOR MANAGEMENT GROUP
ELLCT secretary attends the group meetings, chaired by LLTNP, which is a forum for Stirling Council, community representatives, stakeholders and businesses. The lack of participation of Stirling Council officials is regularly raised but attendance has not improved.
This lack of engagement results in issues identified by the group not reaching the appropriate officers and requiring continual follow ups.
STRATEGIC TIMBER TRANSPORT SCHEME
FOLLOWING the partial C6 upgrade in January/February 2022 under the above scheme, Stirling Council has missed two deadlines (March 2022 and March 2023) to put in a bid to see the required work completed.
ELLCT continues to put pressure on Stirling Council to submit a bid before March 2024.
BUCHANAN COMMUNITY HYDRO SOCIETY: COMMUNITY BENEFIT FUND
FUNDING applications for community projects in the area are to be accepted by Buchanan Community Hydro Society from mid-April.
The deadline for this first round of funding applications is 12 May with awards being made in late June.
Full information and guidance will be made available over the next two weeks – and an open Q&A/information event will be held at Buchanan Memorial Hall on Monday 24 April (7pm).
* To ensure you receive information as soon as it becomes available please contact the society via bchs.community@gmail.com