Update 15th February 2024: Plan submitted to Highland Council for registration!
Scroll down to the bottom of this page for more details.
Our opportunity to shape our community!
In 2023, a new community-led plan was prepared for the Ardgour Community Council area, from Kingairloch through Clovullin and Treslaig to the south side of Loch Eil.
It will be our community’s agenda for the future: guiding how we spend community funds, influence public services and investments, and steer future planning policy.
This page tells the story of the how the Plan was prepared.
Starting point
The foundation of a good plan is to understand what we as a community want for the future.
To find out, a survey was delivered to every household and available online until the end of May 2023. It asked people about the challenges that we as a community face, what we value about the area, and what could be better.
Events were also held in local schools to get young people’s input, and local community groups and businesses were asked for their perspectives.
Over a third of the population filled in the survey. What they said tells a fascinating story about the joys and challenges of living in Ardgour.
The results were shared at three drop-in events in mid June 2023, in different parts of the Community Council area: Treslaig, Clovullin and Kingairloch.
You can see the results for yourself on the display posters from the events, below.
(to download a higher resolution version, click on any of the posters below)
What we said about ourselves
How about our young people?
The survey responses placed great importance on our young people.
So that their voices inform the plan, pupils from local schools have been involved: Ardnamurchan High and Ardgour Primary Schools for pupils along Loch Linnhe, and Lochaber High & Banavie Primary Schools for those along Loch Eil.
What do they want to see happen in the future? Here’s a summary of their main suggestions…
A local shop to buy snacks & groceries: Strontian & Fort William are simply too far.
Good transport to get to jobs, college, sports matches, health appointments etc.
An all-weather pitch on the community park at Ardgour Primary School.
A place to meet indoors like a cafe, shop or the weekly youth club in Strontian.
Community events at times young people can join - coffee mornings, lunch clubs and so on.
Better play areas and parks.
Tidy up litter, flytipping and scrap.
All in all, remarkably similar to the adults’ suggestions.
So what should we do?
At the drop-in events in June 2023, people started to explore the priorities that emerged from the survey, which we are calling Calls For Action:
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Corran & Camasnagaul ferries, road improvements, safer walking and cycling, bus connections, possible bridge. To see examples from elsewhere that were shared at the events, visit this link.
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More events and activities, more paths and walks, safeguard crofting, promote Gaelic. To see examples from elsewhere that were shared at the events, visit this link.
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Including shop and cafe, filling/charging station, care for older people and play/recreation. To see examples from elsewhere that were shared at the events, visit this link.
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Especially for young people and families. To see examples from elsewhere that were shared at the events, visit this link.
We discussed examples of what other places are doing to tackle these challenges (click the + signs above to find out more). We also talked about what we could do in Ardgour, and what support we might need.
All sorts of thought-provoking suggestions were put forward, from quick and easy to wildly ambitious. Click or tap the image below to see everyone’s ideas from the three events.
Fast forward to September 2023, and we reached the exciting moment of deciding what our priorities should be, based on the challenges, aspirations and ideas shared so far.
Deciding priorities
New village hall? Astroturf pitch? Affordable childcare? Integrated buses & ferries? Double the A861? 20mph speed limits? Promote everyday Gaelic? Tackle BSW noise pollution? Control second homes & AirBNBs? Build new community-owned affordable homes? and many others…
Rather than go straight to writing and sharing the draft plan for comment, another round of discussions was organised to help work out what the draft plan should focus on. This included sessions in local schools, community drop-ins and workshops in Clovullin and Treslaig to which almost 60 people came, and an online survey for those who couldn’t make it to the events.
At the events, there was lots of lively and interesting chat about the four Calls For Action - here’s a reminder of what they are:
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Corran & Camasnagaul ferries, road improvements, safer walking and cycling, bus connections, possible bridge. To see examples from elsewhere that were shared at the events, visit this link.
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More events and activities, more paths and walks, safeguard crofting, promote Gaelic. To see examples from elsewhere that were shared at the events, visit this link.
-
Including shop and cafe, filling/charging station, care for older people and play/recreation. To see examples from elsewhere that were shared at the events, visit this link.
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Especially for young people and families. To see examples from elsewhere that were shared at the events, visit this link.
Discussion points at the events included:
Many of the proposals are linked: for example, improving the ferries needs to go hand-in-hand with better buses or community transport on both sides of the loch. And housing, transport, jobs and amenities are all equally important and inter-linked.
The need for a development worker to help make all these things happen, rather than rely on hard-stretched volunteers.
Jobs and business are really important to keep and attract people to the community.
Where will the money come from? The answer is we don’t know yet. There is more money for some things than others. If we don’t ask we don’t get, so we need to frame the plan so that it’s appealing to funders and government.
…and much more besides…
Consultation on the draft Plan
The draft Plan was published at the start of November 2023 for everyone to check, with a deadline for comments of 13th December.
The consultation was promoted by door to door flyers to every household in the Community Council area, posters in public places, social media, and an e-bulletin reaching over 150 people. People were encouraged to comment on the plan using an online survey on this website, email, letter or telephone.
440 different people looked at the draft Plan online, and others looked at hard copies in Ardgour Memorial Hall. Everyone was encouraged to comment.
Of the 440+ people who looked at the draft Plan, 25 people commented on it. 16 used the consultation survey form and 9 sent comments by email.
Thank you to everyone who checked and commented on the draft Plan.
Of the 16 people who used the survey form, 15 said the draft Plan was ready to be submitted to the Council; 4 of those suggested minor changes first. The 9 people who emailed also suggested changes.
You can see every comment and how they have influenced the final Plan here:
For the small number of suggestions which are not reflected in the final Plan, the Consultation Report explains why.
It also contains interesting results from the consultation survey form about future priorities for action, as well as more information about the consultation itself.
Plan submitted for registration
Following a public discussion at the Community Council meeting on 11th January 2024, the Community Council agreed that the Plan should be submitted to the Highland Council with some small but important clarifications to the housing section and one or two other minor amendments.
The finalised Plan, incorporating those amendments, was submitted to the Highland Council for registration on 15th February 2024.
You can see it using the button below:
A couple of other documents were submitted with the finalised Plan: a supporting statement and a report of the last stage of consultation on the draft Plan in November/December 2023.
We’ll update this page again once the Plan has been registered.