Community unanimously rejects Ballachulish plans
Ballachulish Village Hall was packed with concerned villagers last Tuesday at a meeting to discuss the building of 48 holiday properties on the peninsula.
People voiced their objections during the public meeting and the unanimous decision in the hall was against the development.
In December it was announced that Crieff Hydro and Ossian Developments, which owns separate parts of the peninsula, had plans to create one- and two-bedroom luxury holiday homes.
As soon as the meeting began there were strong opinions expressed against any sort of development from villagers who frequently use the area and do not want it spoiled.
Most want the land to be left as it is and maintained to a higher standard, and the possibility of a community buy-out had a lot of support.
Chairman of Ballachulish Community Council Kevin
Smith said his view was not that of the whole community council, but a community buyout would need a clear vision and someone to lead it.
He said: ‘The following area is zoned for commercial and tourist development; the community seems to be against any development. This raises the issue of a developer going for planning consent and Highland Council passing the plans.
‘We should – if the community desires – go for the whole area involved and put it to commercial uses, workshop units or other, on the peninsula opposite the Arch for benefit of the community.
‘I got the impression that the community members left the meeting as being finished, but as we were only talking to one developer, the other owner may have a completely different stance.’
Laurence Young, who runs Ossian Developments, was at the meeting and, despite the strong feeling against the project, he is hoping to show the community what it can gain from the project.
He said: ‘We really valued the strong turn-out at the meeting on January 7 and it’s helpful to get community input on preferences for the area. We haven’t yet had the chance to present to the community on the merits and advantages of our proposals – this meeting has long been set for January 26. Respecting the community views, we are now reviewing the situation.’
Mr Young mentioned that the Ballachulish Community Action Plan for 2016-2021 calls for making more of the waterfront, working with tourism businesses to extend the potential of Ballachulish and making the most of the environment and heritage.
To this end, he is welcoming
‘We should – if the community desires – go for the whole area.’
other potential ideas for use of the land.
Mr Young continued: ‘There were some interesting views expressed at the meeting around community enterprise, youth engagement, interpretation of historic sites and employment.
‘While some folk were keen on simply “wilding”, there was a strand that looked to activity on the site that might create different types of employment (apart from tourism) and develop the natural attractions of the site for tourist enjoyment.’
While one holiday accommodation owner told the meeting that the area needed no more places for people to stay, Davina Melton, who runs Glencoe Independent Hostel, was the only voice at the meeting to speak in favour of at least part of the development.
She said: ‘I am in favour of some development, but not as it is proposed with the 48 properties. About a third of that would be much better and only on the smaller part of the peninsula, the land owned by Crieff Hydro.
‘While the consensus was unanimous in the hall, I have spoken with people who were not there who have a differing view and I feel that if this goes to a ballot, the result would not be quite so black and white.’
Mrs Melton also mentioned that for a development of such a large scale, the owners would find it difficult to recruit staff.
‘We find it difficult to fill all the roles we need and do not have nearly the same size of development as this,’ she said.
‘Even the Kingshouse Hotel [in Glen Coe] is not fully staffed yet and when Brexit happens our European friends will be much more difficult to come by.’