Kilmartin Museum submits plan for overflow car park

Plans for Kilmartin Museum's overflow car park are with Argyll and Bute Council.

The proposals to create extra parking in Glebe Field follow a community consultation carried out earlier in the project.

Copies of the plan went on view this week at drop-ins at Glassary, Kilmartin and Ford Parish Church with museum staff on hand to answer any questions and discuss people's feedback. In January last year the museum, currently closed for redevelopment work, was awarded £50,000 of wind farm community funding for a new car park.

The grant, from the Ventient Energy A'Chruach Wind Farm Community Fund, was granted by the awards panel to alleviate congestion and improve safety for residents and visitors.

It is predicted around 60,000 people each year will visit the museum when it opens potentially in the early summer. An increase of 20,000 visitors on previous numbers is expected.

But that prediction has led to concerns over car and coach parking on narrow roads around the museum and in Kilmartin village.

The museum consulted residents and drew up plans based on the outcome from all the sites looked at around the village. Eighty-five per cent felt the Glebe Field site was the preferred location for overflow vehicles. Additional parking in Glebe Field beside the museum for the busiest times of the year will provide space for up to 38 cars, including car charging points and bike space.

The new car park is being designed to minimise visual impact and be sympathetic to Glebe Field and the ancient monument at its heart.

The proposed car park will be located in the corner of the field immediately next to the water treatment works. The plans include an earth work bund to screen the parking area and an archaeological survey will be carried out before work begins.

Dunadd Community Council has an update from the museum on the agenda for its next meeting on Thursday March 30.

To see the proposals online, visit https://www.kilmartin.org/ improved-parking-in-kilmartin.