Two campaigning community groups say they are hoping to “save the Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond” from planned upgrade works to the A82.
It comes after a petition with the Scottish Parliament to protect the loch’s Atlantic oakwood shoreline from upgrade works is to be re-considered by a parliament committee.
Members of the Helensburgh and District Access Trust and conservation charity The Friends of Loch Lomond and The Trossachs groups lodged a petition with the Scottish Parliament back in September 2022, urging ministers to “reconsider the process for selecting the preferred option for the planned upgrade of the A82”.
The Scottish Government’s preferred option for improving the route is to create a ‘low road’, which campaigners say was decided “without full and comprehensive cost benefit analysis of all options”.
Instead they want to see a ‘high road’ created on the stretch, saying it would include 17 kilometres of the old road, ancient oak woods, sections of historic General Wade’s Road and unspoilt shoreline preserved, allowing wildlife to thrive and reconnect with the loch.
They also argue that the ecological impact would be “minimal”.
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On Wednesday, November 27, the Scottish Parliament’s Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee will again consider the petition.
The petition was lodged by John Urquhart on behalf of Helensburgh and District Access Trust and conservation charity The Friends of Loch Lomond and The Trossachs groups in September 2022.
The groups are now encouraging people to sign the petition to safeguard the section, with 746 signatures added at the time of publication.
Professor Lynne Pearce of Lancaster University and author of Britain’s Changing Roadscapes: Mobility, Memory, Attachment, Loss (Routledge, forthcoming), has backed the petition, saying: “The A82 along Loch Lomondside regularly tops surveys of ‘Best British Drives’, with the turn-off at Tarbet experienced by many drivers as the ‘gateway to the highlands’ (see Society for All British Road Enthusiasts [SABRE] website).
“However, rather less attention has been paid to the recreational and cultural significance of the road for the generations of day-trippers for whom the woodlands, beaches and viewpoints along the northern shores of the loch hold special memories and, arguably, a claim to stewardship.”
Mr Urquhart, chairman of The Friends of Loch Lomond and The Trossachs said he was delighted to learn that the petition was still attracting signatures, which has now totalled 764.
He said: “Huge damage was already done to the oakwood lined western shoreline of Loch Lomond south of Tarbet in the 1980s road widening. Now, in these times of global warming, the last thing that should be happening is to inflict further damage to the shoreline woods north of Tarbet.
“The Petitions Committee has yet to fulfil its promise to visit the loch so they can see for themselves what we are talking about. I am hoping they do so this time.”
Transport Minister Fiona Hyslop has previously said the campaigners’ alternative proposal is not considered to be “viable”.
She said last year: “Transport Scotland has considered the petitioner’s alternative proposal and notes from inspection it is clear that the proposed route alignment would have considerable engineering and environmental issues including increased detrimental effects on Ancient Woodland Inventory areas when compared to the preferred route option.
“The proposal does not acknowledge that the existing A82 would be required to remain in place to provide continued access to land, property and tourist facilities and therefore the existing substandard route would require it to continue to operate without vital improvements to address road safety and resilience issues.
“Additionally, it is noted that the petitioner’s proposal would not allow for the existing route to be repurposed to active travel for the above reasons and therefore it would not deliver upon a key objective of the A82 Tarbet to Inverarnan scheme.
“The Scottish Government does not consider this option to be a viable alternative to the preferred route option.”
The petition will be considered by the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee at its meeting at the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday, November 27.