1999 United Kingdom Countryside Exchange
Lochcarron, Scotland – Executive Summary

Introduction

The Lochcarron area lies in a remote part of Ross and Cromarty in northwest Scotland, a place of spectacular mountains and rugged coastlines, rich in wildlife and accessible to walkers and climbers. Its several communities are largely involved in farming (crofting), fish farming, sea fishing, tourism and other service industries. The local communities are keen to develop and broaden the local economy, while retaining their environment and quality of life. A redundant oil facility may soon re-open which may have a significant impact on the area, and the community is concerned that this be well managed.

Key Issues

The main purpose of the team was to aid the development of a Joint Community Action Plan containing recommendations to be taken forward by local people after the exchange. Its main areas were:

• The development of integrated, sustainable tourism in the area.
• The formulation of criteria which the local community could use to prioritise current initiatives.
• How best to address concerns about the proposed oil facility development.
• What possibilities exist for diversification among local businesses, including agriculture.
• What the likely environmental impacts of development would be and how they should be addressed.
• The development of a local consensus on how the community can take its views forward.

Observations

The team found that Lochcarron was a safe, healthy place with a self sufficient, traditional culture. Tensions sometimes make it difficult to incorporate new ideas and make effective collaboration difficult. The community needs to identify and use its collective strengths to direct change instead of drifting into it. The team found the general governmental and land tenure context complex, involving constant chasing after the latest grant scheme, which discouraged long term land and community planning. The farming sector is suffering from the general agricultural economic decline and uncertainty in government support. Crofting, though more resilient and flexible, is subject to criticism for occasional inappropriate use of land. Woodland, mostly amenity planting, has been established without any obvious long-term plan or coherent view to its management. There is no apparent treatment of waste water in the area other than by natural tidal recycling. Fish farming and rearing, and the shellfish industry, are significant local employers and are vulnerable to pollution.

The local area has valuable natural and cultural assets that can form the basis of sustainable local tourism initiatives but these would benefit from a more co-ordinated approach. The potential effects of increased tourism on the environment and the local community need to be carefully managed. The current employment base is narrow, with low wage levels and tight margins. The take-up of training is patchy and there is little current information on local skills and resources. The area is heavily reliant on a high quality environment. Local transport is problematic. The potential impacts of the re-opening of the Kishorn oil facility need to be better understood and the community needs to build good relationships with the facility’s management and the relevant environmental regulatory agencies and government bodies.

Recommendations and the Future

Community

A participatory planning and decision making process, involving all the community, needs to be instigated. It should aim to develop a 5-10 year to guide future development and should include an Environmental Assessment using a series of locally derived indicators and incorporating the attributes and resources of neighbouring areas.

Environment, Agriculture and Fishing

The community need to come to a collective opinion on how local crofting land should be managed. Local woodland development should concentrate on natural and semi-natural woodlands within an agreed long-term management plan. The vulnerability of the local fish related industries to potential pollution makes it important to work closely with the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) to reduce waste water contamination, including regular water quality checks. A local volunteer rapid-response unit, trained to deal quickly with local pollution incidents, could be formed. This issue could also be addressed through collective pressure on the local water authority to improve sewage treatment.

Tourism

This should be based on the significant environmental and cultural assets of the area, focusing on high value groups, for instance through craft and painting workshops. Local tourism businesses could act co-operatively in certain areas of activity, such as joint marketing, to make the most of scarce resources. A Local Business Association could be a valuable vehicle for such co-ordination, developing packages of accommodation, food, transport and activities. A local website containing elements of Strathcarron culture, such as music, could also help promote tourism in the area.

Business Development

Common problems facing local businesses, such as the need for better IT facilities and skills training, are best addressed through a Local Business Association. Such an organisation could develop a Business Action Plan, possibly using the Duthchas pilot project (a local community development initiative) on Skye as a model. The current jobs base is too narrow and needs to be expanded, possibly partly through development of IT based businesses.

Transport

The historic pattern of under-investment in a remote area dependent on transport links, needs to be countered. A long range capital improvement plan, including local future needs and the implications of the Kishorn oil development, needs to be formed. Other initiatives could include the development of mooring/landing facilities at Kishorn of Lochcarron and dial-a-bus services sponsored by local tourism business partnerships.

Kishorn Oil Development

The re-opening of an oil-facility decommissioning yard presents both opportunities and potential challenges to local communities. A locally co-ordinated response, possibly through an active Local Liaison Committee, should establish links with the management and workforce at the yard to help the local community make the best use of the significant economic spin-off the yard will create and help resolve any future problems. It could also help anticipate the effects the yard will have on local wage rates and labour availability. The community needs to work closely with the established regulatory agencies such as SEPA, and the yard’s management and landowners, such as the Crown Estates, to agree on adequate environmental standards and management regimes, both for previously developed sites and for the wider environment, including the vitally important coastal waters.

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©2002 Glynwood Center