Marina project offers great benefits for community

Sir, – Whilst I respect Jim Crumley’s views on rewilding, I was surprised he didn’t reach out to me for a comment before you published your article.

I’m Perthshire born and bred and living in Aberfeldy. When the opportunity came along to buy a derelict water-sports centre and dilapidated hotel and chalets on the south shore of Loch Tay, I took a risk; and with a huge effort from local tradespeople, my team, my family, and I are making a good fist of turning it into a success.

Our vision for Taymouth Marina does not only benefit ourselves and our guests. We employ 30 people from the area, as well as using local tradespeople to support our business.

We’ve introduced nearly 40,000 guests annually to our beloved local community; we encourage them to visit other local businesses – cafes, restaurants, butchers, bakers, retail shops.

We aim to open a sailing club and activity clubs, only adding to the ways in which we integrate our community into our business rather than disadvantage it, as stated in your article.

Our guests include wild swimmers, hillwalkers, canoeists, birdwatchers and fishermen; why would we want to disadvantage the very people whose passions we are here to serve?

In 10 years most motorboats will be silent, electric and zero waste, but while we build for the future, we live in the now.

We recently commissioned an ecology and noise impact report – these findings have resulted in us creating and enforcing a new code of conduct on all boats at the marina. It addresses the noise levels, not just with silencers, but by creating stricter speed limits within zones surrounding the ends of the loch and its shores.

We hope our example will encourage the hundreds of other boats berthed elsewhere on Loch Tay to follow.

Your article failed to mention that five years ago we contributed £80,000 to the council for the building of the pavement to the crannog.

You talked about preserving the history of our great loch but omitted to share that, at the turn of the 20th Century, there were three coal-powered ferries, belching out pollution and taking 30,000 passengers a year between Kenmore and Killin. Or, that through the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, water sports thrived on the loch with little adverse effect on the ecology.

In your radical plan for a national park, may I remind you that Loch Lomond is filled with motorboats and rentable accommodation; is your solution to eradicate all of this?

Our community needs to address the challenges it faces post-covid. Our youth need employment in a sustainable economy that keeps them in the Glen, rather than losing them to the cities. I hope we can agree that there is only one question we both should be grappling with:

At a time when society is realising the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion, how can we work together, harnessing the power of emerging technologies, to enable us to preserve our environment while allowing everybody to thrive and enjoy this landscape?

Before your next comment, come and have a chat and see what we’re doing.