The Morvern Community Development Company is a small but very active development company who are working to improve the lives of the local community. In June, the MCDC met with the Board of Directors of Ardtornish Estate, the local landowners~~, in June~~, regarding joint working practices, supply of land for housing, etc, and it was decided that the MCDC, Ardtornish Estate and the Morvern Community Council should jointly host a Community Planning Exercise in Lochaline, the results of which would hopefully be incorporated into the Local Plan for Lochaber which is currently being drawn up.

The Planning Exercise was held on 24 August, 2005, and was organised as a day-long drop-in session in order to maximise participation by local residents. Ardtornish Estate and the Forestry Commission also displayed information and asked for comments.

Publicity

Eleanor Brown, MCDC Project Officer, organised the publicity which consisted of:

· an invitation to attend the event delivered to each household in Morvern

· posters throughout the community

· email reminders

· inviting representatives of key agencies to attend, including Ardtornish Estate; Forestry Commission; Highland Council; Lochaber Enterprise and Lochaber Housing Association

Facilitators

The event was facilitated by Anna Barton, assisted by Eleanor Brown and MCDC Directors.

Tools

The main tools used for the community events were maps and plans supplied by the Highland Council Planning Department and suggestions for community development already identified by MCDC in consultation with the Community Council and Ardtornish Estate. In addition, a PowerPoint presentation on the aims and process was screened throughout the day.

Participation

There was an extremely encouraging turnout at the Planning Event on 24 August 2005; a total of 110 people attended, of whom 98 were residents. This represents 31% of the 2001 Census population figure of 314. See Participants’ Profiles sheet (Appendix 1) for profiles. Of the 12 people from outwith Morvern, 9 were from public agencies and 3 were visitors.

None of the 9 public agency representatives recorded any comments, but two of the visitors had a second home in the area and commented on potential development near their house.

During the afternoon, 11 pupils from the primary school (included in the total numbers), together with their teacher, arrived to take part in the consultation.

Methods of reporting comments

Participants read the information, looked at the maps and made comments by:

· placing flags on the maps

· recording and endorsing comments on the feedback forms

· recording comments on sticky notes and placing them on maps

· making verbal comments which were recorded by AB and EB.

Each time a flag was put in the map, an appropriate comment was recorded either by the individual or by one of the facilitators.

It was clear that all participants found at least one of the methods easy to use and most used more than one. Having a combination of methods works very well – the more choice available, the more likely it is that everyone will find at least one method that they are happy to use.

The primary school pupils had a map of their own and their first task was to find their own house and mark it with a flag. They then had a discussion about what development they would like to see and inserted flags and recorded comments. In addition, six of them had a brainstorming session and came up with a list of things they liked about the area and some suggestions for improving facilities and opportunities for young people. (See Appendix 7)

Most common planning concerns

Not everyone commented on every topic, but those who attended later in the day were prompted to think about issues additional to those that had brought them to the event by reading comments made by those who had come along earlier. It may well be that if a list of the topics were published, there would be more comments forthcoming.

There were more comments relating to Community (189) than any other category. These ranged from a strong level of support for a new or improved school to the need for more sporting facilities, particularly those for young people. There were 16 comments supporting the proposal for a golf course, and none against. In a separate survey, conducted on the day, 25 people commented that they would use a golf course were one to be built.

There were 129 comments about Business and Tourism, demonstrating a high level of interest in enterprises, community or private, which would help boost the economy and encourage younger people to stay or settle in Morvern. There were 18 comments about a community sawmill; they were all supportive of the concept, but 11 were unhappy about the current proposed site. There were 9 comments about the marina; again they were all happy with the concept, but 5 were unsure about the proposed site. However, two of the school pupils (from the same family) said ‘no marina’, but they were lone voices.

There is a significant appreciation of the natural environment, and most of the comments related to management and enhancement of the area. Issues such as recycling and renewable energy also came under this heading with 28 people asking for improved recycling facilities and 17 commenting on wind farms, tidal power and a biomass plant.

Most people commented on the shortage of housing and 88 of the comments were for local need, e.g. affordable to buy or rent or affordable sites for self-build and/or crofts. These included requests for sheltered housing, but it is clear that many of these comments were from people who had heard from the petition that there was a need and wanted to support it, without knowing very much about it. Research into sheltered housing has failed to find any organisation that is currently developing sheltered housing outwith quite large towns, where they can provide in the region of 40 apartments - presumably a warden cannot be sustained for lower numbers. In smaller communities, housing associations may build amenity housing; this is defined as:

'This type of housing is mainly for people who are 50 or over or who, as a result of a medical need or physical disability, would benefit from a 24-hour emergency alarm call service.'

In addition, it may be relevant to know that the Chartered Institute of Housing held a Sheltered Housing Staff Conference in Dunblane in June and the Director of Supporting People Enabling Unit in Edinburgh stated that:

‘Separation between housing and provision for social care needs is likely to become more apparent.'

Most of the comments on the Other Issues forms related to infrastructure, such as roads, transport and communications. Several people commented on the need for a bridge at Corran; 9 were in favour, 4 opposed and 6 felt it should be thought about carefully.

The young people’s wish list was mainly for facilities and activities in Lochaline. One of their requests, to drain the school football pitch, found a high level of support from the adults. 6 of them had a short brainstorming session and came up with a list of the things that were good about Morvern, and a list of things that would make it better. These are listed on the Young People page (Appendix 7).

All the comments have been recorded as written and are to be found in Appendices 2 to 7.

Conclusions

All who attended the consultation made thoughtful and constructive comments and there were very few ‘neighbour concern’ comments. Most people stayed a considerable time, in many cases for well over an hour; they read the background literature, watched the PowerPoint presentation and discussed issues with the facilitators and other participants before recording their views.

Although numbers of comments appear to be low for individual issues, these still represent a high enough percentage of those participating to be considered seriously when shaping Morvern’s future via the Local Plan and the Community Plan.

One of the surprising outcomes of the consultation is the small number of comments relating to MCDC’s plans for development through community enterprise. Information has been widely available in the community; it may be that people do not hold an opinion on the individual components, although it is clear that there is tremendous support for small-scale business development in both the private and community sectors.

The majority of the residents in Morvern hold the view that some development is necessary to keep the community alive and well, but this has to be balanced carefully against the need to protect the environment.

Appendix 1 – Participants’ Profiles

			Where do you live?
Age	Male	Female	Where do you live?
			Lochaline	Drimnin	Ardtornish	Elsewhere
Under 16	5	9	9	0	5	0
17 – 24	1	0	1	0	0	0
25 – 34	4	5	4	0	0	5
35 – 44	11	10	13	1	3	4
45 – 54	11	8	2	3	6	8
55 – 64	12	13	16	4	1	4
64 – 75	9	9	10	2	2	4
Over 75	1	2	2	0	0	1
Totals	54	56	57	10	17	26

Total attending	110
Officials	9
Visitors	3
Residents	98

Appendix 2 – Housing Comments

Housing
Comment	Location	Number
Affordable to buy	West of Kirk Brae	6
Affordable to buy	West of school	8
Affordable to buy or rent	Encouragement for locals and new blood to settle and work here	8
Rented accommodation	My grandson wants to come back to the area	2
Rented accommodation	Housing association to buy back council houses that have been sold when they come onto the market	2
Low cost housing	West of Kirk Brae	3
Housing	More needed in Lochaline	1
Affordable	Essential for retention of able working population to support aging population - need carers to support elderly	3
Self build	For local need with RHOG	3
Self build	West of Knock Cottages	2
Self build	West of Mr Brookhunt's house	3
Self build	West of Kirk Brae	2
Self build	Various sites around Drimnin	2
Self build	If a build co-operative or local company could be set up, this would provide more employment as well as housing	2
Self build	The release of some land for self build or building conversion could help population retention	3
Self build	Affordable plots for self build > 1 hectare	2
Access to land	At affordable rents for allotments, crofts, tenancies in Ardtornish, west of Struthan	2
Affordable/self build	N of West Pier	1
Affordable/self build	Give up on Lochaber Housing Association and appoint another one (Albyn?) or set up your own R.S.L.	1
Housing	Make more land available for housing	1
Housing	Between Kirk Brae and Kiel Church	2
All types	Land set aside for long term development no use - we need the land now!	4
All types	Desperately needed - a case of get the land and build asap	3
All types	Essential for the elderly, self build/affordable	1
Timer houses	Local resource - Savary area, behind Knock	3
Crofts and smallholdings	Around Savary	1
Crofts and smallholdings	Fields below Achnaha and Achabeg	1
Crofts and smallholdings	Along Drimnin Road - could include forest areas	1
Forest Crofts	Investigate	1
Sheltered housing	In Lochaline with access to community facilities. Strontian does not address needs in Morvern. 4 - 6 units	13
Sheltered housing	See petition	3
Amenity/adapted housing	For older people near centre of Lochaline - not sheltered housing	4
Sea level	Must make plans for rising sea level - reaccommodation reservation	1
No more housing		1
Fuinary Manse	Someone has to do something - it's criminal!	1
Fuinary Manse	Restore - community buy out for heritage/outdoor centre	1
Fuinary Manse	A bunkhouse?	1
Total Housing comments		99

Summary of Housing comments
Total requests for affordable to buy		29
Total requests for affordable to rent		12
Total requests for self build		20
Total requests for sheltered housing		16
Total requests for amenity/adapted housing for older people		5
Total requests for crofts/smallholdings		6
Other comments		16

Appendix 3 – Community Comments

Community
Comment	Location	Number
Facilities for young people	Where appropriate	7
Children's area	Play park to be extended - funding already sourced, needs someone to make it happen	9
Boating pool/duck pond		3
School football pitch	To be drained	14
New school buildings	On existing site	14
New school	Badly needed	11
Community School	Incorporating community office, small meeting room, computer, lifelong learning/training facilities, etc	6
School/fire/coastguard	Site incorporating all these	5
Sports facilities	In Lochaline	2
Tennis courts	In Knock Park?	4
5 a side football pitch	South of school	5
Community/school garden	To educate on value of local produce and healthy diet (Scottish Growers Assoc?)	3
Golf course	Do it soon or it won't happen!	8
Golf course	This should be a community supported venture! Get involved!	3
Golf course	Essential for future tourist enterprise	3
Golf course	Talked about it, but nothing happens. Would bring in tourists	1
Golf course	Nearest one Resipole	1
Community website	Promote villages, tourism, labour and jobs	4
Cinema	Arrange visits by Screen Machine	3
Museum Larachbeg Laundry	Should be preserved	7
Mountain biking	Club for local young people	3
Mountain biking	Club for local young people - research needed	1
Swimming pool	At Sunart Centre	4
Public access computer	In Lochaline	5
New footbridge	Mungasdail River	15
Heritage Centre	Perhaps located in new school	8
Drop in centre / café	At the scout hut?	3
Public toilets	Upgrade disabled access	4
Travellers	Regulate illicit parking and fly tipping	6
Community Architect	Aesthetics of community buildings affect tourism and new business	2
Footpath/bridleway	Repair and conserve old road to Drimnin	2
Old settlement	Preserve Salachan - old buildings	3
Drimnin Village Hall	Maintain this very important facility	4
Drimnin jetty/slip	Badly needs repair/replacing to encourage more use. Also there is an increase of boat usage, but no jetty	8
Ferry access	All-tide foot passenger landing at Drimnin for Tobermory ferry	1
New steps	At West Pier	2
Postcode	Morvern should have one of its own	1
Sites of interest	No individual interpretations - maybe have info on these sites at a central location, i.e. heritage centre	1
General	Do we have to turn Morvern into a theme park?	1
Cut timber	Why hasn't cut timber been offered to householders for firewood (for a small fee)?	1
Barr Village	Buildings, farmland crofts, etc - community purchase?	1
Total Community comments		189

Summary of Community comments
New school		36
Facilities for young people		35
Sporting facilities		47
Cultural / social facilities		22
Heritage		19
Access - paths, bridges, ferry, jetty, etc		28
Other		14

Appendix 4 – Business and Tourism Comments

Business and Tourism
Comment	Location	Number
Visitor Centre	In Lochaline to keep visitors here longer	6
Community Sawmill/wood workshops	As resource for economic development and jobs	3
Community Sawmill/wood workshops	For local use of local timber resource, eco housing, jobs, development	3
Community Sawmill/wood workshops	Choose a different site away from families	6
Community Sawmill/wood workshops	Alternative site should be considered	1
Community Sawmill/wood workshops	Site for sawmill totally unsuitable	1
Community Sawmill/wood workshops	Site of old dump	3
Community Sawmill/wood workshops	Regulate hours of operation	1
Wood workshops	For community/small business	1
Coastal bothies	To encourage rowing & sea kayaking	1
Enhance access to coast	Improve attractiveness for sea kayaking	5
Enhance access to sea	Visiting divers require access to sea at West Pier	3
Sink new wreck/promote submerged cultural heritage site	Increase business for diving and boating tourism - see successful Scylla project at Plymouth	6
Fishnish Ferry	Extend hours to link with last crossing from Oban	4
Fishnish Ferry	To operate on Sundays in winter to allow for weekend visits	1
Ferry maintenance work	Ask that work done on Sundays is carried out at Fishnish, where there are no houses!	2
More boating opportunities	In Loch Aline and Sound of Mull	3
Beaches	Clean up, redirect sewage pipe and market the 'white sands of Lochaline'	1
Drimnin jetty	Badly needs repair/replacing to encourage more use. There is an increase in boat usage, but no jetty	3
All	Sustainable development which respects the area's character	2
Various	Small business, trades, IT, etc	1
Marina	Community owned and managed	4
Marina	Proposed site will bring little to the village - pontoons right in the village would be better	4
Marina	In Lochaline	1
Boatyard	In Lochaline	1
Hotel	On foreshore	3
Hotel	Land between Morvern Cottage and hotel	3
Hotels, B&Bs, Holiday homes	More accommodation for tourists/holiday makers if we want to bring more money into the area	3
Accommodation	Needs to be planned into any promotion or advertisement of area	2
Accommodation	Decent hotel	1
Holiday lets	Log cabins in forest, made locally, community owned	1
Garage	Pity the Ardtornish one somehow expired - at present nearest one is Acharacle	6
Garage	Site of old dump	2
Whitehouse Restaurant	An example of a positive amenity, bringing much needed/valued visitors	1
Bistro/coffee shop	Community owned and managed	2
Camp site	At Lochaline for overnighters	2
Camp site	Village Brae site	3
Camp site	Small one on area between hotel and corner of road to ferry	1
Job opportunities	For returning family	5

Real jobs locally	Discussion with mine to stop ongoing use of contractors with a view to creating permanent jobs in the area	1
Jobs	Gift shop that sells games and children's things too	1
Heritage	Suitable premises for archive material	9
Signs	To be erected at Kirk Brae road end for Celtic Stones at Keil	5
Signs	At Carnoch Bridge	1
Mountain biking	Develop and promote	3
Mine	Feasibility study needed for visitor centre	2
Marketing	To enable cohesive promotion of area	2
TRISPARC development		1
Crofts	Diversify land use and opportunities at White Glen and Glen Geall	1
Holiday village	At Glencrippesdale	1

Total Business and Tourism comments		129

Summary of Business & Tourism comments
Requests for visitor centre		6
Community sawmill		18
Wood workshops		19
Marina		9
Other business opportunities		9
Enhancement to attract tourists		9
Other visitor attractions		24
Visitor accommodation		20
Ferries		7
Marketing		8
Other comments		11

Appendix 5 –Comments on the Environment

Environment
Comment	Location	Number
Natural and historic heritage	Enhancement of the areas of natural resources for access without damage	5
Low Road	This road could be such an asset to the area if maintained - the only level route out of the village	3
Low Road	Maintain road as footpath	6
Low Road	The Low Road could be such a beautiful route for cycling & walking for all ages	1
Low Road and elsewhere	Sustained action on bracken eradication to facilitate shore access and improve views	6
Bracken and ragwort	Control on forestry land	1
Beach area	Develop and maintain	3
Open up view - maintenance	Fell trees around village brae	2
Communal compost heap and improved recycling	Both to reduce household rubbish and encourage community, especially kids, to be environmentally aware	5
Recycling	Roadside collection of recyclable goods by council	7
Recycling	Press for early implementation of proposals	2
Recycling	More facilities - plastic, paper, cans, etc	14
Trees in Lochaline village	If plans to plant shrubs goes ahead, use local native species, e.g. bird cherry, rowan, etc	1
Trees	Cut down unnecessary trees and undergrowth to enhance beautiful views	3
Trees	Stop felling trees in the village - they're basically holding the village together	1
Forestry	Develop walking (not biking) access away from roads used by lorries	1
Forestry	Top marks for access - walking, cycling	2
Paths	Maintenance of new woodland paths	2
Paths	Maintain and keep clear	4
Fishing	Encourage sustainable fishing	1
Litter at roadsides	Litter point at Carnoch Bridge and signs to encourage its use	5
Tidy up	Encourage local land owners and Forestry Commission to clean up after themselves i.e. not leave redundant fencing, wire, machinery lying around - especially important now in light of Countryside Access Code	1
Tidy up	Area from Kyle - High Street and below Medical Centre	1
Keeping Lochaline tidy	Many areas in Lochaline need tidying up	6
Litter	Encourage everyone to dispose of litter appropriately - from plastic bags to old cars	7
Land between ferry pier and hotel on seaward side of road	If this is to be developed, limit it to one or two low-rise buildings only to restrict adverse environmental impact	1
Picnic site	Develop site and access from village for community benefit	1
Sound of Mull	Get it teeming with fish	2
Sound of Mull	Restrict/control passage of hazardous cargoes	1
Wind farm	In front of Glensanda would cover ugly, unpopular view and introduce more clean energy and possibly encourage tourist in to see them	3
Wind farm	The turbines would look worse than Glensanda!	1
Wind farm	No wind farm here - no community benefit	1
Wind farm	East of Ardtornish	1
Wind farm	Investigate small community wind powered generators	2
Wind farm	Community wind farm in Fiuinary Forest	1
Tidal power	Develop	7
Woodfuel power station (biomass)	Fuinary Forest near West Forest Access	1
Repair wall	At entrance to Kiel Churchyard	5
Community owned forest	Fiuinary Forest	2
Community owned forest	For diversification of land use; wood fuel power station; wildlife; crofting	1
Loch Teacuis, Barr	Restore	1
Water meadows/rice paddy?	On flooding fields below Savary	1
Sand mine path	Finish this so that you can cycle through without ?	1

Total Environmental comments		123

Summary of Environmental comments
Maintain/conserve natural environment		9
Low Road comments		16
Enhance through management of trees, bracken, etc		8
Path maintenance		10
Recycling comments		28
Litter comments		20
Marine environment		4
Renewable energy comments		17
Other comments		11

Appendix 6 – Comments on Other Issues

Other issues
Comment	Location	Number
Bridge	To replace Corran Ferry	9
Bridge	No thank you	4
Bridge	Not sure - needs to be thought about carefully	6
Main road	Needs to be resurfaced	17
Corner at Kingairloch Road	Redesign - dangerous at present	8
Transport of wood from Mull	Take direct to mill via Loch Linnhe, not via Lochaline	10
Corran Ferry	Extend hours of service to permit attendance at evening activities in Fort William	9
Corran Ferry	Should be tied up to a jetty, not out at a mooring - more accessible in bad weather	1
Fishnish Ferry	Extend hours to permit access to events on Mull	3
Traffic calming	Speed reducing measures on Village Brae	4
Power/phone lines	To be put underground	7
Drimnin Road	If housing is to be developed on this road, the standard needs improving - not fit for construction lorries/heavy traffic	6
Telephone lines to Drimnin	Badly in need of improvement, especially for internet connection	5
Broadband - 2mb minimum	Good internet facilities essential	6
Consolidate castle	Community purchase of Caisteal nan con Killundine?	1

Total Other comments		96

Summary of Other comments
Bridge		19
Roads		31
Traffic		14
Ferries		13
Communications		11
Other		8

Appendix 7 – Comments from Young People

Young people's comments

Comment	Location	Number
Youth Club	For primary school age	7
Trampoline		2
Leisure centre		4
Swimming pool	In Lochaline	7
Improved play area		5
Squirrel tree / bridges		3
Pond in park		3
Tea shop		4
Garage	At site of old dump	2
Drain school football pitch		8
No more trees	East or north of Loch Aline	2
No marina		2

Total comments		49


Some of the school children made the following points:

What's good about living here	What would make it better
It's got a club	A cinema
The play park	More shops - clothes & games
All the lovely hills	More bins so there's less litter
Its beauty and wildlife	Community gym
The woodlands	Swimming pool

Appendix 8 – Site-specific Suggestions

For consideration by the Highland Council Planners for input into the new Local Plan for Lochaber:

Suggested sites for affordable housing:

West of Kirk Brae

West of the school

Suggested sites for self-build housing:

West of Kirk Brae

West of Knock Cottages

West of Mr Brookhunt's house

Various sites around Drimnin

Suggested sites for crofts/smallholdings

Ardtornish

West of Struthan

Around Savary

Fields below Achnana and Aachabeg

Along Drimnin Road

There was also a desire for something to be done with Fuinary Manse.

School:

Some comments suggested new buildings to extend and improve the current school.

Those wanting a new school did not suggest a new site.

Many wanted the school to incorporated community facilities

Suggested sites for sports facilities:

Knock Park

South of school

Heritage sites:

Fuinary Manse

Salachan

Savary

Barr

Suggestions needed for a site for a heritage centre - Fuinary Manse and the new school have both been suggested.

Suggested sites for community buy-out:

Fuinary Manse

Community forest near Lochaline / Fuinary Forest

Caisteal nan con Killundine

Suggested sites for business/tourism development:

Old dump, for sawmill and garage

Scout hut for community coffee shop/drop in centre

Glencrippesdale for a holiday village

Sand mine for a visitor centre

On the Village Brae or between the hotel and the ferry road corner for a camp site

On the village side of Loch Aline for a marina/pontoons

Suggested sites for designation as community/environment/amenity:

Low Road

Old road to Drimnin

Existing paths

5 a side football pitch south of school

Golf course - proposed site

Site requested for community/school garden

Comments for Morvern Development Company:

Sawmill and wood workshops

Marina

Suggested community buy-out sites

Comments to be passed onto the Community Council for forwarding to the appropriate agency:

Fuinary Manse

New steps at West Pier

Improved phone/IT connections

Cut timber to be available to residents for firewood

Tree fellling around village to improve view

Scrub cutting and tree planting where appropriate

Path maintenance

Liaise with Ardtornish Estate and the Forestry Commission re suggested sites above for housing/business/tourism development

Corran Ferry re extended hours

Fishnish Ferry re extended hours and maintenance of ferry to take place at Fishnish

Feasibility studies for renewable energy

Recycling facilities

Tidying up the village

Road repairs/realignment

Traffic calming

Club and activity organisers for young people

Research re sheltered housing

Discussion with alternative Housing Associations

Upgrading disabled access to public toilets

Separate postcode for Morvern