Tourists steal warning signs
Unruly tourists stole signs aimed at persuading them to behave responsibly.
The issue is just the latest in a line of problems being experienced by communities across the area.
A minority are spoiling picturesque spots with antisocial behaviour, leaving rubbish and debris behind and parking irresponsibly.
Trossachs and Teith councillor Evelyn Tweed, who is backing the Stirling Observer’s Don’t Trash Our Future campaign, said education is the key to turning things around.
“Given the good weather,” she said, “it was another difficult weekend in the ward for residents, the police, the council and the national park.
“It is great that visitors are coming back to enjoy our wonderful environment but unfortunately a minority of them continue to break the rules.
“I had complaints from residents from the Loch Venachar area that visitors were parking in laybys, causing local road obstruction, and that the council’s temporary No Parking signage is being stolen by the public.
“I have raised this with officers from Stirling Council who are considering how they can deal with this issue. It really is unfair on the local community that visitors are causing such problems.
“Unfortunately, from my discussions with other politicians from neighbouring areas, the issues of dirty camping, littering and inconsiderate parking are not isolated to my ward.”
She added: “One aspect is education and highlighting what is expected of the public. We need to get the message out to new visitors and the public about how they should be treating our beautiful environment.
“I also support Loch Lomond & the Trossachs
National Park’s campaign Love it Like a Local, which is a great message and which is gaining traction.
“In practical terms more needs to be done in terms of infrastructure and enforcement, though this is something that will need to be resourced.”
The Stirling Observer recently launched the Don’t Trash Our Future campaign, calling for the punishment for littering to be raised to a £1000 fine or 100 hours of supervised community litter picking.
Together with local community and information platform Inyourarea. co.uk and our nationwide network of sister newspapers and websites, we have teamed up with Clean Up Britain to push for changes we believe will leave no choice but for both irresponsible litter louts and the authorities to take longlasting action.
A petition has been launched, which has 18,000 signatures so far, so we can lobby the government to change the legislation.
Last month 21 people were charged over one weekend with irresponsible camping and environmental damage in the national park. Later that month a further 21 people were charged. Other beauty spots have also been trashed and concerns have been raised in Callander, Killin, Aberofyle and other areas.