With foreign holidays this year being off the radar for many vacationers, Ardentinny, along with many parts of Scotland, has seen a sizeable increase in the number of holidaymakers visiting the village. Indeed now, almost into November, much of the self-catering accommodation is still fully occupied.
Ardentinny has a total of approximately 112 dwellings. Reviewing the relevant short-term rental websites, the village currently has some 16 holiday lets listed, as well as 8 holiday apartments (at Ardentinny Outdoor Centre). In addition, there are approximately 8 second homes in the village. Therefore, the percentage of Ardentinny short-term lets is just over 14%. If second homes are added, this would bring the total holiday homes in the village to 21%. This is excluding the Ardentinny Centre holiday apartments. If the 8 apartments were added, total percentage of holiday accommodation would rise to just over 28%.
According to one recent report, with a total of 3,131, Argyll and Bute has the second highest number of second homes in Scotland (after Highland region).
With the growth of self-catering, the Scottish Government is now seeking to bring in a licensing system for the sector and is consulting the public. Holiday lets and second homes are of course controversial issues. The contribution the industry makes to local economies can be substantial. However, one also must consider the challenges mass tourism brings to fragile rural infrastructures.
Argyll & Bute Council has announced an 8-week consultation for the public to consider how they participate in their local Community Council meetings. During the pandemic, the Council allowed community councils to hold meetings remotely, online. However, as this was a temporary measure, meetings should now be reverting back to face-to-face.
The consultation is for the public to consider whether online meetings should continue along with the possibility of offering a hybrid meeting format inpatient which would provide both face-to-face and online access.
These proposed changes in how residents get involved in their local community councils are to be welcomed. For too long access to these meetings has been restricted to those able and willing to attend in person, often in a cold village hall on a winters night.
Reviewing the meeting minutes of the respective Cowal community councils (where available), we did a quick check on attendance by the public at these meetings (see below). Due to the pandemic, the latest figures available are for 2019 to early 2020. However they do show very poor attendances throughout Cowal. Interestingly Ardentinny’s meetings fared quite well by comparison, but overall it would appear that there is little resident involvement in their community councils.
The hybrid approach would appear to be the more inclusive solution, providing maximum accessibility in compliance with the Equality Act 2010.
On Thursday 1 April Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) held an open online meeting with the Ardentinny community, the context of which is as follows.
The FLS – owned, designated picnic site at Ardentinny beach has been unofficially used as a campsite over several years, attracting its fair share of anti-social behaviour. Last year, post first lockdown, the situation became critical. There were in excess of 84 encampments in cramped conditions with insufficient facilities, no protocols in place for social distancing or visitor data collection, and no on-site management.
Community consultation
In October 2020, in response to local objections and representations from our MSP and other officials, FLS engaged in a community consultation on a variety of proposals for the area. The community heard nothing further until it received a letter at the end of March 2021 outlining a proposed planning application for visitor management around Ardentinny beach and announcing Thursday’s meeting to discuss it.
FLS plans
Approximately 40 people attended online and by phone. Stuart Chalmers, FLS Regional Visitor Services Manager opened the meeting and began a visual presentation of their proposals. He stressed the purpose of the meeting was to give the community the opportunity to look at FLS plans for the 2021 visitor season, for which they are about to submit a planning application, and to invite questions and receive comments for consideration. However, it was not a forum to present objections. There will be an opportunity to do so to The National Park (NP) after the planning application has been submitted.
He highlighted that one of the key pressures among the 15 visitor sites within the NP was that of antisocial behaviours associated with camping in Ardentinny. There were also other issues such as irresponsible parking; litter; damage from fires and they fully expect this year to present a similar level of problems. As a result, FLS had made a commitment to the NP that they would look at site design and review in terms of how they could improve it and try and reduce some of last year’s problems.
First, they have already invested just under £15.000 to improve the water supply to the existing toilets to provide extra capacity and improve reliability.
Improved signage
They are also looking at improving their signage to try and assist visitors. The draft example shown addressed fires, litter, dogs, noise and overnight parking. On this they have been working closely with the NP and other national agencies and so include the national strapline ‘Scotland-it’s all ours to care for’ to indicate that they are following responsible tourism guidance moving forward.
Improved signage draft.
Proposed changes to existing site
Stuart went on to describe the proposed changes to the existing beach site. The plan is to cut it in half so that one half will accommodate cars. A gate will divide the loop so that the far away section will be a dedicated picnic area. A secondary loop will also be created to enable cars accessing the disabled toilet to have an adjacent disabled parking area. The existing car park area will be scraped to improve it and, to tackle the issue of irresponsible parking, bunds will be strategically placed to prevent parking on the grass. A gate will be installed to protect parking for the bowling club and they will do work on the potholes on the access road to the bridge.
Proposed changes.
Planning Application
Stuart then referred to their plans to submit a planning application. He commented on the growth in camping at the beach over the years and the fact that, as things stand, they are not empowered to control it. However, if they proactively operate a campsite, they can control the number of campers; where, how, and how long they camp; and importantly they can charge a fee which would allow FLS to employ supervisory staff. Therefore they are proposing to have two sites. The first at the top half of the loop at the beach where there will be picnicking and the second in a field (known as The Nursery Field) between the caravan park and the beach.
Proposed changes.
On the original beach site alongside the designated picnicking section, there would be camping pitches and a campers’ car park while the second site in the “Nursery field’ would have temporary hard-standing for parking and Portaloos to the right of the access road and the camping pitches would be at the bottom area of the field and would connect to the path for beach access. They plan to have 20 pitches on each site.
Proposed ‘Nursery Field’ campsite.
Campervans – Stay the night
Due to the high demand for staycations the Scottish government has approved a 3 year temporary change to legislation whereby suitable car parks no longer require planning permission and local authority licensing to accommodate self-contained campervans. Therefore, based on a campervan trial undertaken elsewhere last year, FLS is planning to offer a Stay the Night option to campervans turning up. If there is available space, they then pay and stay the night. Their plan is to have a number of these sites across the NP and Ardentinny is one of them.
Stay the Night campervan signage.
Sallochy Campsite
Much reference was made to the FLS campsite at Sallochy on Loch Lomond by way of example of how the Ardentinny sites might be run. It is open from 1 March to 31 October, has ten central camping pitches and 10 Lochside pitches with a 3 night maximum stay. Each pitch permits 2 tents with a maximum of 4 people. Bookings must be made 48 hours in advance and no group bookings are accepted. There are composting toilets and a cold water sink for drinking and dishwashing. Fires are permitted only in fire pits available for rent with wood available for purchase. Local by-laws preclude the public consumption of alcohol. Charges are £7 per adult per night rising to £8 May-August, Children aged 5-16 are £1 per night and under 5s go free with car parking costing £3 per day. Thus providing affordably attractive rates for families while potentially earning approximately £100,000 per season.
Stuart highlighted the fact that by having an online booking system they know in advance who will be camping. They have the ability to control fires; they provide guidance on noise and wardens welcome visitors and explain the site rules, all contributing to a more respectful stay by visitors. They therefore consider that, by taking this proactive step, it should go some way to improving the situation for all concerned.
Questions from the floor
The meeting was then opened up to questions. Representations were made by The Village Hall and Bowling Club committees and both Ardentinny and Kilmun Community Councils in addition to several questions and observations made by local residents and homeowners.
Timescale
Dismay was expressed at why it had taken FLS so long to come up with these proposals which now needed to be rushed through with the holiday season already upon us. Similarly questions were asked as to why they bore no relation to the ideas proposed in the FLS October consultation. Stuart explained that the earlier consultation referred to a longer term solution while these were an urgent response to the current situation.
A caller expressed the view that it appeared they were trying to rush the pre-application consultation and that there were people in the village without access to the online presentation who should have the facts and time to consider them and respond. FLS was of the view that the application needed to go in quickly if there was to be a benefit this year and that the time to respond was after the planning application had been submitted. The caller also posited that Sallochy was a poor comparison to make as it is four miles from the nearest village which has many facilities while the proposed sites are no distance from Ardentinny which has no facilities.
Booking system & Test & Trace
Another caller asked about a booking system and whether there would be any test and trace procedures in place. Apparently test and trace procedures are not a requirement in campsites but as they would have a pre-booking system, visitor details would be available in any event. However, there is no booking required for the campervan ‘Stay the Night’ proposal.
Out of hours security
There were a number of residents concerned about who would turn ’no reservation’ visitors away at night as wardens would not be present 24/7. Apparently FLS has approval for an extra 2 Park rangers for Cowal with a focus on Ardentinny and will have some later patrols which they will coordinate with the NP and Police Scotland. However, if no-one is present and they do not leave, a call should be made to the police or alternatively call the 24/7 FLS duty officer who can relay the matter to Police Scotland. Also, in response to the concern that the field is large enough to accommodate any number of campers just turning up, Stuart clarified by saying the camping area would be fenced off and there would be livestock on the remainder of the field.
Antisocial behaviour
There were painfully relatable accounts of theft from and damage to gardens and intimidating late night disturbance from residents nearest the beach and again the response was that it is a criminal issue and therefore a police matter. The advice is to report all incidents as, despite possible late reactions initially, they will all be logged and, as they accumulate, can help the police justify allocating more resources to the problem. Stuart also offered to arrange for Steve Gillen, Cowal Community and Education Ranger to meet with the owners of Dalrymple House to discuss possible solutions to the problems they encounter.
Byelaws
There was a suggestion that byelaws to prevent drinking on site might be worth considering. Stuart responded by saying that FLS currently has no byelaws. They could consider having a no alcohol policy on the sites but that would not be enforceable by the police. Alternatively, the community could consider putting an alcohol ban in place with the local authority. This would need to be a community decision as it would also affect where residents can drink.
Road safety & environmental impact
There were additional concerns raised about road safety; the environmental impact, of which no assessment is required for a temporary planning permission; working hours and training of site staff; and the potential doubling of a problem by having an additional site.
Hypothetical questions
The following hypothetical questions were posed:
Q. If the community overwhelmingly rejects the proposal will it go ahead?
A. No, as planning permission is required in order to proceed.
Q. If one site is granted permission and the other not, will one go ahead?
A. Yes.
Q. What will happen if the the proposal is rejected?
A. There won’t be wardens regularly on site but there would still be extra rangers coming to the site.
Improved signage would be installed.
Bunding would still go ahead to rectify uncontrolled parking.
The ‘Stay the Night’ camper van proposal would probably still go ahead as it doesn’t require a planning application.
Stuart summarised by saying that the proposal was intended to help the current situation but if the community rejects it, it will not go ahead.
HAVE YOUR SAY
At a time when society has been kept in a virtual pressure cooker for almost a year, there is a need for folk to escape. To rest, relax, breathe and enjoy – safely! Do these proposals facilitate that while preserving and protecting our local environment?
A pre-application will be sent to the Park “next week” after which a full application will be submitted to Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Planning Authority where you can study the detail and also express your views on the proposals prior to a decision being taken. Advice on how to view and comment on planning applications can be found here .
Please note that the Public Access website where you can view and comment on planning applications will not be available from 16:00 on Friday 2 April until 17:00 on Friday 9 April due to an essential scheduled upgrade.Statutory notification and consultation periods during these dates will be extended.
In a letter to Ardentinny Community Council, Stuart Chalmers of Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) outlined plans to seek planning permission to ’temporarily formalise’ the use of the area as a campsite.
The proposal would be to create a campsite at the beach (Glenfinart Bay) and a second in the ’nursery field’ (a field west of the beach, currently in use as sheep grazing). Each site would accommodate 20 tents with four portable toilets installed. Additional temporary parking would also need to be created. Nursery field access would be from the west, on the estate road, just off the main Glenfinart road.
We have asked for a statement from FLS covering the following questions and have copied to Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, our MSP and MP. We will update this article in due course:
– Does FLS propose a full pre-application community consultation?
– FLS has stated that they are seeking planning permission to ’temporarily formalise’ the use of the area as a campsite. How long would this ’temporary’ status be valid for?
– Glenfinart Walled Garden is a charitable Trust and is located within the beach area. It derives much of its income from events staged at the garden. Home-investors may make House buyers for your house, among other benefits. This may be helpful if you need to sell your house quickly or want to avoid the usual process. Buy my house knows the mobile House market and can provide competitive price for your property. They know mobile House values and can provide sellers reasonable pricing. Visit https://www.home-investors.net/alabama/investors-that-buy-houses-auburn-al/.If both the beach and nursery field is allocated to paid camping and parking, what measures will be put in place to accommodate free parking for garden visitors at these events?
– Is FLS going to manage the camp sites themselves or will it be placed with a third-party contractor?
– There only appears to be the mention of tents in the campsites. Will camper vans be accommodated?
– By restricting free parking at the beach, the problem of parking will possibly be moved to the village hall car park and adjoining single track roads as well as possible overnight camping on the beach towards Ardentinny Hotel and the Church car park. Has FLS discussed the plan with Ardentinny Village Hall, Ardentinny Community Trust, Ardentinny Bowling Club, Argyll & Bute Council, The National Park and Police Scotland?
– Are there any plans to accommodate stalls/shops or other infrastructure to support the sites
FLS are holding an online (via Microsoft Teams) meeting with the community on Thursday 1 April from 7pm – 8pm. You can join the meeting online here or by phone on 0131 376 2847. Phone conference ID is 177 558 486#
[Update 31 March, 2021 – reply from Forestry & Land Scotland to our questions:
– Does FLS propose a full pre-application community consultation?
FLS will submit planning application soon and have already met with representatives of the community council and have offered a public meeting on Microsoft Teams at 7pm on the 1st April.
– FLS has stated that they are seeking planning permission to ’temporarily formalise’ the use of the area as a campsite. How long would this ’temporary’ status be valid for?
The area has historically been used for informal camping which is difficult to manage. The temporary change of use to a Campsite will allow us to charge for camping which will enable us to increase staff presence on the site. It also gives us better control over where people camp, the numbers that camp and improves our ability to keep the site well managed. The length of time we put the temporary change of use in place is something we are keen to discuss with the community on the 1st April. Our feeling is two years would be ideal as we expect that 2021 and 2022 will both have a high demand for staycations.
There will continue to be parking available for day visitors and the community.
– Glenfinart Walled Garden is a charitable Trust and is located within the beach area. It derives much of its income from events staged at the garden. If both the beach and nursery field is allocated to paid camping and parking, what measures will be put in place to accommodate free parking for garden visitors at these events?
– Is FLS going to manage the camp sites themselves or will it be placed with a third-party contractor?
Forestry and Land Scotland will manage the camping ourselves. We will recruit two seasonal staff to support the camping. The staff will have duties in the wider Argyll Forest Park area but the focus of the work will be in Ardentinny. We feel this is the best way for us to manage the expected pressure on the Ardentinny caused by visitors in 2021. Although this will have a net cost to FLS to deliver we expect that proactively managing visitors will be more cost effective than reactively dealing with the issues. The camping staff on site will proactively manage issues will make it a better experience for the community, than we can do with existing resources.
– There only appears to be the mention of tents in the campsites. Will camper vans be accommodated?
There is expected to be a restricted number of locations allocated for campervans at Ardentinny. Nationally, there has been a temporary change to both licencing and planning requirements for three years for campervans, which means that Forestry and Land Scotland and other bodies will not require licencing or planning approval to provide campervan sites. This was trailed last year by Forestry and Land Scotland as Stay the Night. One of the conditions is that the campervan sites will require daily supervision. More information will be published soon at https://forestryandland.gov.scot/staythenight
– By restricting free parking at the beach, the problem of parking will possibly be moved to the village hall car park and adjoining single track roads as well as possible overnight camping on the beach towards Ardentinny Hotel and the Church car park. Has FLS discussed the plan with Ardentinny Village Hall, Ardentinny Community Trust, Ardentinny Bowling Club, Argyll & Bute Council, The National Park and Police Scotland?
Camping and Charging for Parking are two separate items. The Camping does require a temporary change of use to allow us to convert part of the car park into camping and the bodies mentioned above will all get an opportunity to express their views as part of the planning application. We have a right a landowner to charge for parking and that does not require us consult with others. However, we have been in dialogue with the Bowling Club as they are a tenant of FLS to make sure we can protect their parking. If there are impacts from charge car parking on other landowners or local groups we will continue to be open to discuss solutions. We have not yet decided when we will start charge for parking at Ardentinny. Argyll and Bute Council, National Park and Police Scotland are broadly aware of our plans through National Park Safe Recovery Action Group.
– Are there any plans to accommodate stalls/shops or other infrastructure to support the sites?
There are no shops or stalls planned. As an organisation we are open to approached from commercial mobile units through our permission system mentioned above. We are currently investigating additional bins and temporary toilets.
Instructions for joining FLS Microsoft Teams Meeting for Windows 10 (Edge browser) and Mac (Chrome browser) + mobile devices.
2. This should take you to a page which says ‘How do you want to join your Teams meeting?’. You may also see a Microsoft Teams log-in pop-up box appear. There is no need to log-in if you do not wish to and you don’t need a ’Teams’ account.
3. Unless you want to download the ’Teams’ app for your computer, we’d suggest you just click on the ‘Continue on this browser’ option.
4. This should take you to a page which asks if you wish to ‘allow’ or ‘block’ your camera. When you select ‘allow’ your video should appear in the browser.
2. This should take you to a page which says ‘How do you want to join your Teams meeting?’. You may also see a Microsoft Teams log-in pop-up box appear. There is no need to log-in if you do not wish to and you don’t need a ’Teams’ account.
3. Unless you want to download the ’Teams’ app for your computer, we’d suggest you just click on the ‘Continue on this browser’ option.
4. This should take you to a page which asks if you wish to continue with or without audio or video.
– To ‘Allow audio & video’, click on the tiny camera icon in your address bar (this is dependent on your browser, you may instead see a pop-up message) and select your preference.
– To ‘Continue without audio or video’, just click on the ‘Continue without audio or video’ button
5. You will then be asked to enter your name and click on the ‘Join now’ button.
Phone:
You can also make contact by phone calling the Microsoft Teams number – 0131 376 2847 conference id: 177 558 486#
Last Tuesday saw another of Ardentinny’s familiar landmark functions disappear from the village. After the closure of Ardentinny School in 1997 and the church in 2018, this week another little piece of history was lost as the village’s only telephone box was unceremoniously loaded on a truck, destined for the scrapheap.
The box, while not the original, had served the village probably close on a century and was no doubt once a lifeline prior to the days of home and mobile phones. However, it was now deemed by BT to be no longer necessary.
Site of the removed phone box.
We contacted Argyll & Bute Council regarding the removal of the box and they informed us that in November 2019 BT advised the village (by way of a poster in the box) that a consultation was underway and invited comments or feedback to be directed to the local authority. Indeed the BT campaign to ‘Adopt a Phone Box“, where communities could take ownership of their phone box for just £1 has already seen 5,000 communities take up the opportunity. That wasn’t the case in Ardentinny but perhaps understandable as it had long since lost the original red box.
The phone box did however gain a new, if short-lived, lease of life at the start of the first Covid lockdown in the spring of 2020, with residents turning it into Ardentinny’s very own ‘box of kindness‘ and donating a wide range of essential goods from baked beans to cleaning products and even live plants!
‘Box of Kindness’ May, 2020.
We understand that Ardentinny’s original phone box was located opposite Ardentinny Hotel but was relocated to the Church car park many years ago with the latter being of the modern design rather than the old traditional red box. If anyone has photos of the original phone box or can share with us more on Ardentinny’s phone box history, please email us or post to our facebook page.
