TABLE OF CONTENTS

FOREWORD

1. Introduction

• 1.1 The Team
• 1.2 Background
• 1.3 Community Strengths and Weaknesses
• 1.4 Overarching Themes
• 1.5 Report Organisation

2. Sustaining Landscape and Communities

• 2.1 National Park Designation
• 2.2 Millenium Cycleway
• 2.3 Managing Land Use
• 2.4 Managing Visitor Use

3. Making Links: Making a Living

• 3.1 Assets and Change
  3.2 Making the Links

4. Enhancing Community Life

• 4.1 Community Infrastructure
• 4.2 Motivating People
• 4.3 Transport
• 4.4 Road Safety, Signage and Parking

5. Organising for Success

Appendix 1: Team Biography
Appendix 2: List of Contacts
Appendix 3: Transport Options
Appendix 4: Examples of Road Signage Improvements (not currently available online)
Appendix 5: One Vision Planning Approach
Appendix 6: The Home Town Process

This project was funded by Forth Valley Enterprise and Rural Stirling Leader II Programme

FOREWORD

In March 1997, Scottish Natural Heritage distributed information about the Exchange to the Local Enterprise Companies in Scotland. In Stirling this was passed to Stirling Rural Partnership (S. R. P.), the co-ordinating agency responsible for all development in rural Stirling. S. R. P. informed Stirling Council Community Support Services and their Community Animateur, who supported the bid submitted by the Rural Outreach Network in conjunction with Balquhidder, Lochearnhead and Strathyre Community Council.

Table of Contents

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 The Team The International Countryside Exchange is an international project designed to bring together a small group of professional volunteers to share their knowledge and expertise with a local community to help address local issues.

This year the Exchange celebrates its 10th anniversary. Over the past decade Exchange Teams have visited over 50 case study areas throughout Britain, Canada and the United States. This case study, looking at the area which includes Balquhidder, Lochearnhead and Strathyre, is one of five case study locations chosen in Britain for 1997. The common theme for all of these exchange areas is:

Managing Change in the Countryside.

The Exchange Team was made up of eight countryside professionals from different walks of life:

Peter Abbott Kathryn (Kayci) Cook Emily Gabel-Luddy Karen Kerley Ron Reid William (Bill) Steiner Audrey Wedderburn Anna White

Peak District National Park, England US National Park Service Los Angeles, USA Rural Development Commission, England Ontario, Canada South Carolina, USA Countryside Commission, England Essex County Council, England

A more detailed description of each of the team members is included in Appendix 1.

The team members each brought knowledge and expertise, but more importantly, we had the opportunity to meet with and listen to many of the people who live and work in this community. We also had detailed discussions with a wide range of representatives of organisations and authorities that play a role in the local area.

As a team, our collective experiences have shown many instances where positive outcomes are achieved when people work together and share a common goal. Even though the team began as eight complete strangers, we were able to unite our thoughts and ideas in this report. We sincerely hope that its observations and suggestions will in some measure repay our host community for its hospitality and candour during our visit.

We have provided our observations and recommendations scattered throughout this report. As well, the key recommendations with our suggestions for their priority and timing are provided in the Executive Summary. We want to stress that these recommendations are our own, and do not necessarily represent the position of the Rural Outreach Network or any other agency.

1.2 Background

The case study area is situated in the Southern Highlands of Scotland and lies at a natural transport cross-roads where the A84 trunk road (travelling north-south) and the A85 (travelling east-west) meet each other . The combination of these transport routes and the location of the lochs and the mountains means that the villages of Balquhidder, Strathyre and Lochearnhead form a ‘T’ shape around these cross-roads, each with its own distinct community character.

The area lies within the northern part of Stirling District, approximately 25 miles from Stirling itself. This location is a stopping-off point for travellers going further up into the north of Scotland or crossing over to the Western Isles.

This area is surrounded by steep sided, wooded mountains and deeply cut lochs, which have a strong influence over the character of the area: Loch Voil, Loch Doine, Loch Lubnaig, and Loch Earn.

Balquhidder

This village is in the west of the case study area and is somewhat off the main travel routes, being accessed from Strathyre by a road which runs along the west bank of the River Balvag. This area is known as the ‘Braes of Balquhidder’ and retains much of the physical characteristics of a traditional crofting community, being spread out and isolated. The Church acts as a focal point for tourists because the village churchyard contains Rob Roy’s grave, which attracts many visitors. The area is surrounded by woodland and pastures, and is reminiscent of the remoter highlands. A new village hall is under construction, but the primary school closed several years ago.

Strathyre

This village is in the south of the case study area with large areas of forestry immediately adjacent. This provides an easily accessible recreational resource based on a network of forest walks. The A84 trunk road bisects the village which is linear in layout. The village is overlooked by mountains on either side and the name Strathyre is from the Gaelic ‘Sheltered Valley ‘. The overall appearance is that of an enclosed village with woodland sweeping down from the hillsides and a cluster of houses close to the road. The village has a new shop which provides a focus, along with several inns and tea rooms, a village hall, and a primary school.

Lochearnhead

This settlement is spread out along two major road routes which gives the impression that the area is sparsely populated. Because of this, the village has a less identifiable ‘core’ than Strathyre, even though there is a small village shop, a primary school, a hall, and a village post office. The low building density and the loch-side location give an open aspect to the village, which is set against a backdrop of mountains with Loch Earn stretching out in front. This area has a strong cultural and heritage history and the Loch offers a number of recreational opportunities centred around watersports and fishing.

1.3 Community Strengths and Weaknesses

The study team met with approximately 50 local residents in community meetings, as well as business owners, farmers, a fish farm operator, and deer stalkers. In addition, we held a special meeting with representatives of the agencies and organisations which have a function and role to play within the area. Please refer to Appendix 2 for a full list of contacts.

As a team we found this extremely useful, not only because it gave us the chance to listen and gather information, but also because it gave many residents and organisational representatives the chance to talk to each other and exchange ideas.

During our discussions with community members, we learned a great deal about local priorities and aspirations. In particular, the community meetings and other discussions reinforced three major points:

1. That the people who live here cherish the quality of the natural environment, particularly the hills, the strong sense of community and history among the people, and the area’s peace and tranquillity. These are important quality of life factors, and there is a strong sense that people here do not want the more concentrated type of development that occurs along Loch Lomond, for example.
2. At the same time, people told us that they wanted to see some continuing economic growth in the area, so that young people could find jobs, and so that local businesses remain healthy.
3. Perhaps most importantly, people told us that the type and rate of change allowed within this area should not be permitted to destroy the values they hold dear.

Building on these local views, and on our own analysis of the area in the context of the surrounding region, the Exchange Team identified a list of the major assets and liabilities within the community.

Assets:

1. The people of the area, including both long-term families who provide a sense of continuity, and recent ‘incomers’ who bring new energy, ideas, and financial resources to the community.
2. The attractive landscape, especially the hills and lochs, which provides a strong draw for visitors to the area, and sustain a range of local uses.
3. The location of the area in the heart of Scotland, at the intersection of major travel roads, and within easy reach of major urban centres for day visitors.
4. The strong cultural heritage of the area, including historic buildings and bridges, traditional activities such as hill farming and deer stalking, and a strong heritage of stories and folklore.
5. A substantial tourism base already in place, with a good diversity of visitors (hill walkers, cyclists, self-catering cottagers, short and longer-term hotel visitors, water sport enthusiasts, deer stalkers, etc.).
6. Evidence of a number of new ideas which add to the economic diversity and potential of the area, such as the Strathyre Telecottage, the canoeing school, animation of local stories, and so on.

Liabilities:

1. The seasonality of some of the economic activities within the area, particularly those related to tourism, which tend to be concentrated in the summer months.
2. The location of this area on the periphery of most jurisdictions (at the outer reaches of Stirling, at the boundary of two tourist boards, etc.), which has often led to the needs of this area being overlooked.
3. The inward-looking focus of many of the local people and businesses, who tend to concentrate on their individual activities or purely local issues, and ignore broader national or regional trends. For example, many of the business owners appear to regard their competition as the next establishment down the road, rather than uniting to understand that a more important factor is competition between this region and other regional destinations in Scotland.
4. A fairly strong sense of apathy and/or smugness evident among many of the people that we met in the area (although certainly not all), stemming either from complacency (my business is doing all right) or a feeling of helplessness in the face of difficult issues.
5. The lack of a shared vision of where the community as a whole would like to be in 10 years, or 20 years. While there appears to be general agreement on some very broad themes, as outlined above, there is a wide diversity of opinions on more immediate activities and priorities which impedes coherent decision-making. This split in opinions is most strongly evident between the relatively well-off people who have moved to this area to retire or to run a small business prior to retirement, and the local people who are often struggling to make a living here.

1.4 Overarching Themes

During the course of the Exchange visit, three general themes emerged which are interwoven through many of the specific observations and recommendations of this report.

Change:

The old saying that ‘nothing is so constant as change’ certainly applies in this community. Major changes have been frequent in the history of this place, and have shaped its character Ð from the Highland clearances and introduction of sheep farming two centuries ago, to the extensive plantings of conifer woods that changed the look of the landscape, to the more recent loss of train services that so affected the area.

But it is clear that other significant changes are about to arrive that will greatly affect the future of these communities, and to which local people will have little choice but to adapt. European Union agricultural policies, for example, are almost certainly going to bring a reduced level of subsidies, with resulting changes in the economics of sheep farming. A new national park has been announced for Scotland, which includes this community and the surrounding area. The route of the Millenium Cycleway and walking path, which is predicted to attract 40,000 or more annual visitors, will pass through the heart of this community.

These are all decisions which have already been taken, and which have the potential to bring significant changes to this community in the next few years. However, the Exchange Team felt that many local residents are either unaware of these coming changes, or fail to realise their importance.

Sustainability:

A recurring theme among the various plans and strategies that have been completed for the rural Stirling region is ‘sustainability’. In the context of the villages of Balquidder, Strathyre, and Lochearnhead, this term should be interpreted to relate not only to maintaining or improving the health of the natural environment in future, but also of the local economy and of community life. This broad definition of sustainability is particularly appropriate here since the landscape which so many people value and want to protect is not ‘natural’ in an ecological sense, but rather has been created by a long history of human activities such as sheep farming.

Within such a landscape, it is important that key ecological functions be sustained, for example by protecting the water quality in the burns and lochs. In some places, restoration to a more ‘natural’ environment is entirely appropriate (by re-creating areas of native woodland, for example, or gradually replacing uniform conifer plantations with more diverse and landscape-sensitive mixes of species).

However, anyone applying sustainability principles in this area must also recognise that this is a living landscape, where people have resided and worked for centuries. Protecting the scenic qualities of the visual landscape, and involving hill farmers and other traditional users in appropriate land management, become important sustainability issues. Making sure that the attractive village centres retain their historic character and friendly people are also vital factors in ensuring a sustainable future for the area.

All of these elements of sustainability Ð environmental, economic, and community Ð must be considered to ensure that actions to meet today’s needs do not rob future generations in this area of their full potential.

Grasping the Nettle:

In ‘official speak’, the third overarching theme identified by the Exchange Team is called community empowerment. In local terms, this concept might be better expressed as the need to come together and plot a course of action to deal with the coming changes, and then to ‘grasp the nettle’ to jointly make things happen.

In the view of the team, there is a real danger that the community will be so overwhelmed by change, or so convinced of its inability to change events, that it will simply sit back and hope for the best. This would be a very unfortunate choice.

With change comes new opportunity, and it is clear that a number of excellent opportunities are currently available for the community here to have a major hand in shaping their own future. The administrative structure and policies of the new National Park, for example, are still undecided, and the views and interests of local communities must be actively sought. Other communities have already begun to develop new services and sources of employment in anticipation of the Millenium Cycleway (a new cycling hostel outside Callander is but one example), and many of the same opportunities are present here.

In our view, there is an urgent need for this community to pull together to decide how best to respond to these opportunities, to build new partnerships both locally and with various agencies, and to increasingly take control of its own destiny. We are convinced it has the ability to do so to a large extent; what is needed is the will to grasp the nettle – to face difficult issues and persevere to ensure that the future brings community benefits rather than just new headaches.

1.5 Report Organisation

The remainder of this report is organised in four broad sections:

• Sustaining Landscape and Communities, which looks at some of the issues associated with the new national park and cycleway, together with other land use and visitor considerations;
• Making Links: Making a Living, which addresses economic opportunities within the area, and how those might be exploited;
• Enhancing Community Life, which looks at quality of life issues within the area, especially those relating to local transport and road safety; and
• Organising for Success, which offers advice on developing a community vision and creating momentum to move forward.

Within each of these sections, specific recommendations are highlighted in bold face.

Table of Contents

2. SUSTAINING LANDSCAPES AND COMMUNITIES

Overview

It is the natural and heritage landscape and its location that distinguish Rob Roy Country. The scenery, space and quality of light characterise the natural landscape, and were identified as leading reasons people came here to live.

This is also a landscape rich in history and change. In our walks through the countryside, the history of the area was easily discovered. This heritage includes not just Rob Roy’s grave, a well-promoted major tourist attraction, but also more remote but equally important artefacts such as a mediaeval settlement, the plague pit, drovers road, the high road and the shielings. Within the setting of lochs, streams and bens, the landscape is layered with more recent history including old railroad bridges and pathways, Queen Victoria’s 1840′s railroad dedication site at the top of Glen Ogle (‘which she termed the Khyber Pass of Scotland’), the fank and sheep corrals.

It is most importantly a landscape of people. The people who run the farms, estates and the activities within the village settlements are the history of the valley and also its future.

Finally, Lochearnhead lies at the intersection of two trunk roads – A84 and A85, and adjoins a large loch that has a broad open meadow to its west. From here, there is easy touring out to the rest of the Highlands. The meadow and nearby areas have successfully been used for events such as the Highland Games in July and the Sheep Shearing Competition in August (which has attracted international as well as regional participants).

The potential of the central location of Rob Roy country should not be underestimated and should be exploited.

In summary, the natural and cultural heritage of the area offers several advantages:

1. Rob Roy country is in an excellent location, central to Scotland and its attractions
2. The fact that it is not the best known as a destination place is a benefit
3. The ‘return on investment’ to public and charity agency projects is potentially higher because of the prior two factors
4. The rich history of landscape, people and places is a story which needs to be told
5. Each village can emphasise its special features based upon its location in the valley:

Strathyre: gateway; stopping-off point on the cycleways; a well-placed new village store and carpark; accommodation and food for motorists and cyclists.

Balquhidder: long tradition of game-hunting/tourist accommodation; a destination point to look at Rob Roy’s grave; cycleway will go through a portion of the village.

Lochearnhead: intersection of main roads; car touring opportunities into the rest of Scotland; a wide variety of watersports; a destination point for cultural and sports events.

The following discussion and recommendations are intended to take advantage of the new national initiatives (National Park and Millennium Cycleway), the common themes among the villages, and the special characteristics of each.

2.1 National Park Designation

In September of 1997, the Scottish Secretary of State announced that plans for establishing a national park in the Central Highlands would be put forward for early consideration by the Scottish Parliament. The proposed boundaries of this park and recommendations for administering it appear in a consultation document published by the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs Steering Committee: ‘Loch Lomond and the Trossachs: Help Us Decide its Future.’

This report was published early in 1997 and the map was updated in March, changing the boundaries to include a portion of Loch Earn. The consultation document introduction states that the ‘ideas are only in draft form’ and that wide public involvement must take place.

Many of the community residents and business owners met by the Exchange Team had not seen the document and its recommendations. Local residents and government officials alike had no real sense of how such an area might be administered and some questioned the designation altogether as inappropriate. All agreed that there was no comparable example in the English National Parks that provided a model for management of what will be a complicated patchwork of land ownership and use.

The team felt that the national park designation was appropriate, but felt strongly that more detailed discussions regarding land and visitor use implications, administration and funding must begin immediately. Residents within the proposed boundaries are entitled to be intimately involved in determining policies and practical guidelines relating to their property and affecting their communities.

In our view, the national park designation can be helpful to local communities in addressing some of the key issues they identified, both in the short and long term. For one thing, this designation can bring new capital and new jobs into the area. As well, the national park can bring increased capacity to deal with visitor use conflicts, and even some of the road safety issues outlined below. The team believes it is vital that local communities begin to think about how to make the national park designation work for them in a positive way, and provides the following recommendations as a starting point:

• The Councils for the areas within the proposed boundaries, together with Scottish Natural Heritage and any other agencies with responsibilities for national park planning, must begin immediate discussions with local residents, village and agency officials, business owners and organisations. These discussions should include as agenda items:
  • capital improvements needed to ensure visitor safety and quality experiences
  • determining which matters will remain under local control
  • wildlife, vegetation, water and air quality, and visitor use management
  • creation of visitor information media
  • development and enforcement of regulations
  • levels of funding
  • management of public access to private lands
  • co-ordinating management of existing designations
  • jurisdictional concerns

In reviewing the draft recommendations for administering a national park, the team was unsure of the local interpretation of a “Joint Board”. A single planning authority, replacing local planning authorities within the national park boundaries, is in our view essential. This should not, however, remove local authorities and communities from decision-making. The single planning authority should contain representation from the local authorities and communities, so that local views and priorities are considered in decisions. We therefore recommend that:

• The Scottish Office should ensure that a single planning authority is given responsibility for both forward planning and development control. It should have local representation.

Although we understand that the proposed boundaries for the national park have already been subject to considerable discussion, the current proposal to include only a part of Loch Earn within the park creates future problems from a policy, ecological protection, and regulatory point of view. We recommend that:

• The proposed boundaries of the national park should be revisited to include all of Loch Earn and its developable fringes.

Once established, the national park must have adequate resources for on-the-ground support. Increased numbers of visitors and greater emphasis on visitor and resource management will require a much larger ranger staff than currently covers the area under the Countryside Ranger Service. We recommend that:

• The national park management authority should be provided with sufficient resources to effectively address resource protection and visitor use issues on the ground.

The team heard about plans for a wind farm to be built on the hillsides above Glen Ogle, with some community members in strong opposition. Because national park establishment is to occur in the near future, it would seem reasonable and prudent to table decisions on developments such as wind farms that would have a major impact on the landscape until a single planning authority exists. We recommend that:

• Decisions on major changes in land use, such as the wind farm currently under consideration for approval, should be deferred until the national park is designated and a planning authority for the park is functioning.

The trunk roads within the new national park will be major points of access for most park visitors, and the setting for enjoying the scenic assets of the park for many motorists and bus tours. This important role should be recognized through the designation of Scenic Touring Roads, with the purpose of promoting the driver’s enjoyment of the scenery and directing drivers to points of interest, photographic opportunities, services such as lodging, food and fuel, and recreational opportunities. Special standards for Scenic Touring Roads would distinguish them from other roads. Participation from the village councils, the Rural Outreach Network, and Stirling Council should be sought by the Scottish Office to address:

• Uniform and attractive signage, including use of international symbols, associated with the national park area, for village entry, directional and services signs;
• Strictly enforced speed limits within all villages within the national park to a maximum of 30 mph;
• Imposition of traffic calming measures outside of village areas to reinforce the scenic (i.e. not frantic) driving experience;
• Calming of large lorry traffic that travels through the area by restrictions to night-time use or limited hours only. Lorry deliveries to villages or local farms should be exempted from limitations.

With these considerations in mind, we recommend that:

• Scenic Touring Road status should be declared for the trunk roads within the proposed national park.

Maintaining local support for a national park designation in the area is dependent largely on building effective involvement in the creation of management structures and policies. We therefore strongly recommend that:

• Any planning authority or interim committee must distribute (and seek comment on) preliminary findings and draft and final plans widely. The Rural Outreach Network will be one effective method for the communities considered by the Exchange Team.

Lack of interest or willingness to work on constructive solutions will erode the communities’ ability to influence their own futures as policies for the park are developed. In view of the degree of apathy and inward focus identified earlier as a concern, we feel it is worth reminding that:

• Community residents must speak out on their own behalf.

In the same vein, community residents and groups can do much to take advantage of the new national park, especially if they show leadership in developing new ideas. We recommend that :

• Communities and agencies should explore alternative funding strategies for some facilities, activities and programmes.

Ideas include establishing not-for-profit fundraising or ‘friends’ organisations, grants for facility improvement and information/interpretation, and a voluntary contribution strategy (discussed further under Making Links section of this report).

Areas proposed for inclusion in the U.S. National Park System are considered against criteria including: national significance, land ownership, and existence of other similar areas. The U.S. has a number of different designations for significant areas. U.S. National Heritage Areas are generally a mix of private and public lands, not unlike the study area. The team will provide U.S. National Park System selection criteria and information on national heritage areas to the Rural Outreach Network as examples for consideration. We also recommend that:

• Prior to the further designation of additional national parks, the Scottish Office should establish selection criteria to guide creation of areas.

These criteria should create a well reasoned distinction between national parks and other current and potential designations, such as regional parks and national scenic areas.

2.2 Millenium Cycleway

The Millennium Cycleway will establish a cycle and walking path from Drymen and Aberfoyle to Callander and Killin. The route will bring an estimated 40,000 cyclists annually into the study area. Maps showing the cycle route as already completed were published prematurely, which has increased cyclist use and frustrated those who arrive to find that parts of the route do not yet officially exist. Cyclists now share the road with motorists in several places, and find little area information aimed specifically at them. Most existing cycling information seems more focused on cycling in urban settings. We recommend that:

• SUSTRANS and Stirling Council should correct and re-issue cycle maps showing the sections of the route currently available and as not yet completed.
• Communities should develop touring information specific to the cycle routes. Local artists and naturalists can provide talents for maps and leaflets.

Many local people were not aware of the proposed route of the cycle route. Businesses seemed interested in accommodating cyclists as a generally well-behaved user group. Business owners mentioned that road safety issues prevent many cyclists from coming to their stores and restaurants. We recommend that:

• Either the Village of Balquhidder or the Village of Lochearnhead should consider establishing a hostel for cyclists, a short distance from the heart of the village. The new Cycling Centre in Callander is already successfully attracting cyclists to use their facilities. Another facility in one of these villages offers an income opportunity without in itself increasing traffic problems.
• Transportation officials from the Scottish Office and Stirling Council should identify and implement safety related improvements to the roads where the cycle route will overlap with them. Improvements will benefit residents, auto tourists, pedestrians, and cyclists.

2.3 Managing Land Use

The study area landscape is largely one of rural agriculture. Few areas of true ‘wilderness’ exist. Hillsides support sheep farms of varying sizes and small scale managed forests. Red and roe deer herds share space with sheep in the higher elevations. A fish farm stocks Loch Earn and provides for commercial markets in the region.

The team met with a variety of individuals, agencies and organisations involved in agriculture and forestry. Many of them are concerned about the effects of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the plan to reduce significantly farming subsidies. Some sheep farmers feel they have few alternatives for diversification. Virtually all the farmers contacted are concerned about how increased tourism will affect their livelihood (hill walkers, stricter policies on land use for preservation or habitat restoration, etc..). As noted in the discussion of the proposed national park, many felt uncertain about the designation’s impact on their lives. We recommend that:

• The Scottish government, through the management of the national park, should consider establishing economic incentives for conversion of farms to other compatible uses or to maintain farms for heritage purposes. Such incentives could lessen the impact of CAP changes on farmers and serve as a landscape management tool.

There was agreement among team members, community residents and agencies that the forest practices of the past (single-species conifer plantations) have resulted in a forest landscape with greatly reduced visual and habitat value. In addition, frequent concerns were expressed about the visual impact of clear-cutting practices, and the hazards caused by wood lorries on local roads. Many expressed enthusiasm for changes in planting and harvesting practices and did not realise that Forest Enterprise’s management plans show how these will be implemented. However, it will take many years for changes to be visible on Forest Enterprise lands, and owners of private forests may not follow similar improvements.

It is notable that Forest Enterprise owns and manages approximately 20,000 hectares within the proposed national park boundaries, which is a very significant public land base. The team felt that with national park designation, the management of government-owned forests should be under the control of the park’s planning authority. This could involve either a shift of land ownership and management responsibilities directly to national park management, or some form of detailed approval function by the national park authority over Forest Enterprise management activities. We recommend that:

• The planning authority for the national park should have responsibility for managing, or approving the management of, government-owned forests.
• Forestry decisions must be made within the broader scheme for landscape management, with priority given to increasing ecological diversity, restoring native forests in appropriate locations, and enhancing scenic amenities.
• Riparian landowners should consider selective tree cutting to enhance views of Loch Lubnaig along the trunk road, and the western end of Loch Earn.
• This “viewshed” management will create a sense of anticipation for motoring tourists and encourage them to slow down or stop to enjoy the landscape.
• (See the Making Links section of this report for additional related recommendations).

Riparian owners brought up other resource management and visual quality issues as well. Both Loch Earn and Loch Voil have areas where tourist cottages and caravans are concentrated. Environmental regulations currently do not require landowners to connect to main water and sewer systems if use of their property is restricted to a short time during the year.

The team was surprised that any release of raw sewage into the lochs is permitted, particularly since the greatest use of the lochs for water sports and swimming coincides with the time that sewage is likely to be generated and disposed of in them. Additionally, all four lochs (Lubnaig, Earn, Doine and Voil) in the study area have Sites of Special Scientific Significance (SSSI) adjacent to the shorelines.

On a positive note, the team was impressed with several area businesses’ concern for water quality. The Drummond Estate’s fishery on Loch Earn has a catchment and filtration system to draw fish faeces into a drain trap. The waste is removed and then used as fertiliser. The Kings House near Balquhidder is replacing its septic fields with a sewage treatment facility using natural systems. The reed beds that process waste will enhance the landscape around the hotel area and promote environmentally friendly development.

We recommend that:

• The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) should prohibit all discharge or dumping of untreated sewage into the lochs if such a regulation does not now exist.

For now, water enthusiasts on Loch Earn seem to have found a balance between motorised and silent (canoeing, sailing) sports, based on the suitability of different areas of the loch given prevailing winds. Nevertheless, the increasing use of jet skis, fishing boats, and float planes could easily conflict with each other and with the quiet enjoyment of local residents and other visitors. The team did not explore conflicts on the other lochs, but feels that consideration should be given to developing use plans to guide future regulation. The new water sports concession in Strathyre is a promising expansion of silent sports. We recommend that:

• SEPA and local drinking water quality officials should develop a plan to manage the impact of increased water sports (especially motorised) on area lochs and rivers, including consideration of whether regulation is necessary to improve user safety and maintain a quality experience for other visitors.

The study area has a great variety of wildlife habitats, which makes it attractive to visitors and residents alike. The team discussed management of the deer herds with local stalking guides, farmers and other businesses. Much of the discussion focused on conflicts between stalkers and other users. The stalking fraternity feel that their activity is threatened both by increased open access to the mountains and by forest management practices that ignore the patterns of movement of hinds and stags. The issue of how wildlife management will be carried out under a national park or other designation also arose.

The team accepts that deer stalking is a significant traditional use of the hills in this area, which is unique to the Scottish highlands and provides important seasonal employment. The local stalking guides and other residents possess a great knowledge of wildlife management philosophy and skill in carrying out sound management techniques. Stalking guides in Balquhidder maintain a management organisation to guide annual management of the deer herds in their area. To take advantage of this local knowledge and skill, we recommend that:

• Stirling Council, Scottish Natural Heritage, Forest Enterprise and the new national park management authority must work together on joint wildlife and forest management policies, in consultation with local residents, farmers and stalking guides.
• Local residents and stalking guides should continue to be closely involved in developing policies and managing deer herds. Talks should be encouraged between hill walking groups and deer stalkers to gain better understanding of each other’s concerns, and to find common ground for reducing conflicts. The Rural Outreach Network could play a facilitating role in these talks.

2.4 Managing Visitor Use

General tourism trends are bringing more and more people to the Scottish Highlands. The cycle route and national park will continue that trend. The team heard from agencies and residents alike that visitors sometimes do not conduct themselves appropriately. Conflicts between user groups exist and will grow. Some of these, such as hill walkers disregarding trail closures for stalking, are major safety concerns. In some cases, off-road mountain bikers are creating conflicts with farming operations. There are also environmental concerns, since heavily-used trails are showing signs of resource damage.

To address these concerns, the Exchange Team recommends:

• Stirling Council should assist the communities in developing and promoting a local version of the ‘Hill Phones’ deer stalking information system for walkers and climbers.
• Communities should develop specific codes of practice for countryside users, based on the ‘Countryside Code’, but addressing specific local needs (e.g. deer stalking).
• This information should be provided to and promoted by national hiking, stalking, and water sports publications, as well as in leaflets designed for local and regional distribution.
• Agencies and other landowners who provide public access to areas showing signs of erosion and damage should develop management plans which include closure on a rotating basis for ‘rest’ or rehabilitation.

If the national park is managed by a single authority, arranging for alternative recreational opportunities during closures will be made easier. Prior to park establishment, landowners can communicate with each other to send visitors to available areas.

We, the Exchange Team, were not typical visitors to this area, but rather privileged guests. Our hosts – the Rural Outreach Network and the people from Strathyre, Balquhidder and Lochearnhead – acted as our guides. However, without a personal tour guide, much of the history of the land would have been lost on us during our walks. Our guide pointed out the site of the mediaeval village and its plague pit, the drovers road, the black watch, the shielings.

But if we had been driving in the area on our own, it would have been nearly impossible to know where to hike, what toilet facilities to use and where to secure basic information (the hotels, self-catering cottages, bed and breakfasts, restaurants and tea rooms to their credit had signs along the road and had some information inside their businesses). Without the personal attention of our hosts, the Exchange Team would have been lost, knocking on an odd door, or simply driving out of the valley on to our next destination.

For example:

• It wasn’t easy to see the landscape unfold as we left Leny Falls; even at Loch Lubnaig, the loch was only partly visible through the trees.
• It wasn’t easy to find out about the area when we arrived in Lochearnhead.
• It wasn’t easy to find any kind of walking tour map.
• It wasn’t easy to know where to turn around in Balquhidder.
• At Killin and at Callander, there were no hiking maps, roadway touring maps, or historic brochures for this valley at the heart of Rob Roy Country, to provide the hiker, cyclist or automobile tourist a strong identity for the area.

Following are some focussed recommendations on where and how the villages, working together, can go about preparing and locating information important to tourists:

• Each Village must have at least one ‘You Are Here’ diagrammatic information map for the motorist, hiker and cyclist.
• The Lochearnhead information kiosk would especially benefit from a new map that graphically emphasised the valley. The Exchange Team prepared a modest map, placing the area at the centre of the world as one possible approach (See frontispiece).
• A clear graphic distinction must be made between information on signs that direct or locate the visitor.
• Roadside information signs which graphically emphasise the local area give a good orientation to motorists. Hiking maps, on the other hand, can be fanciful, with extensive text. Hiking maps in the area could include Gaelic words and phrases affording a greater tie to historic events.
• Using international symbols for toilet, lodging, food, parking and information will place the tourist-oriented signs on par with other countries which use them.
• Adopting or inventing further graphic symbols for activities such as deer stalking, hiking and water sports affords a visual shorthand for communication. Quickly seen and easily understood, a ‘picture is worth a thousand words.’
• The maps of the area, its history and people should be broadly distributed to all providers of tourist accommodations (food and lodging) and available at the Information Centers outside of the area. The kinds of maps prepared can be distinguished by the potential user.
  • Motorists
  • Cyclists
  • Hikers
  • Bus users
• With the advent of the Millennium Cycleway, it is critical that the villages be prepared with maps for cyclists, not only to direct them to food and lodging services, but also to keep them ‘on the path’ where is it necessary.
• The initiative to develop hiking and cycling maps of the area does not require charity or government funding. A partnership between the talented local artists, the highly motivated innkeepers we met, and local tourism agencies is an example of a possible partnership that will serve all interests.
• Market walking and cycling routes by putting the maps inside transport buses in the area, including The Trundler and commercial buses.
• It is common in other parts of the world for commercial transport providers (buses) to market their routes by placing the tourist information maps inside the buses in distribution boxes, alongside the bus schedule. Links can also be developed between walks and public transport services. Walks leaflets could offer specific advice on suggested bus times and places to start and finish. A series could be called something like “walking by bus”.
• Ensure frequent and proper maintenance of signs (including removal of obscuring growth). A faded or dirty sign, or one obscured or totally hidden by vegetation, is arguably worse for the image of the area than none at all. There may be opportunities for local voluntary or paid involvement in this. The English model of a village odd-job person revived by some Parish Councils may provide a model.

Table of Contents

3. MAKING LINKS: MAKING A LIVING

To assess the potential of this area for employment growth, we looked at:

1. Land management:
2. Farming
3. Forestry
4. Recreation
5. Tourism
6. Diversification
7. Support and advice systems

We found many assets; some problems/blockages; a good policy and support framework; and willing agencies, anxious to help the community. We concluded that there were job prospects in both additional visitor numbers to the area and in making links between assets, markets, skills, identity, and support. Partnerships between support agencies can help to tease these prospects out into the open: developing links, finding and assisting individual opportunities for growth. There needs to be an ongoing focus on the area to make sure that the best possible links are made between opportunities, entrepreneurial spirit, and available support. Local agencies will need to exercise persistence and flexibility to remove blockages.

There is a need to make use of European Funding (Objective 5b) in the next two years, setting up projects that can help ‘make the links’ and that can extend with delivery beyond the two year cut-off. We offer some ideas on linkages and projects and list these later. Further detail on existing experience with some of these will be sent to the project organisers.

A balance needs to be struck between maintaining the environment and community character and creating jobs. This is central to the vision that each place (Balquhidder, Lochearnhead, and Strathyre) must develop.

Businesses need to look outwards: to keep aware of general trends, but also to consider how they can help the community in which they operate, and its environment. This is part of the sustainable or living village.

3.1 Assets and Change

Every community has some assets which can be drawn upon to fuel economic growth. In this case, the asset base is considerable. The environmental assets are obvious, basic and fundamental. They are described in more detail earlier in this report. The human assets are many. They gave the team confidence in the ability of those living in the area to develop additional opportunities for income:

1. the people themselves
   • warm and friendly
   • professional in many niche markets
   • diverse in talents and skills
   • with a growing realisation of the need for voluntary partnership and discussion
2. their culture and good food
3. their existing experience of holding several jobs to mix and match a living

The infrastructure assets to build on include:

1. a land use policy base in the Structure and Local Plans which already encourages additional accommodation, facilities, attraction and services, and business diversification (whilst recognising the need to respect the environment).
2. agencies keen to find innovative ways to make use of the support that they can offer, even where cash is limited (notably Forth Valley Enterprise and Stirling Arts Development)
3. Stirling Council’s realisation of the need to produce a rural strategy
4. the Learning Centre in Strathyre which has become a training outreach centre able to tailor-make courses to suit the needs of people and businesses in the area
5. the new leisure centre in Callander, which offers a wide range of facilities and is a bad weather alternative for visitors

Change must be viewed as an asset in itself from the point of view of making a living. It represents new market opportunities:

1. More visitors = more customers. This is the most obvious inevitable change offering new income. The general increase in countryside leisure, the specific long distance walk and cycle-way proposals (in particular the Millenium Cycleway), and reported increases in demand for deer stalking and related activities all offer opportunities. There are already examples of new markets being tapped:
   • a new stalking / training business (many clients of which are coming for fun rather than serious job prospects)
   • canoe hire and training in Strathyre
   • accommodation and services for cyclists in Callander
2. The National Park may well bring a budget focussed on land and visitor management.
3. Diversification from the land management and tourism base is perhaps one of the hardest aspects of change to come to grips with. Its asset value is in focussing attention onto innovation. It requires careful matching of personal interests and entrepreneurial will, skills, buildings and sites. Although many opportunities are initially related to the tourism base, it is clear that these could grow into businesses serving a wider market (e.g. MacArthur’s Fine Foods). Both products (crafts, foods, arts) and services are involved.A local nurturing system in required to help individual businesses define their prospects, make best use of support systems, and encourage more flexibility in areas where they do not appear to meet the actual need on the ground. Making links to diversify the economy beyond tourism provides a way to make a living while putting less demands on the natural resources which serve as the tourist resource as well.

3.2 Making the Links

A series of strategic links need to be made – some to retain market share; some to capture new markets; and others to help provide a clearer picture of local need and potential. The details provided in the suggesions below are examples only; local communities and businesses are invited to think of their own and try them!

We recommend that local community groups, businesses, and agencies:

• Link into identity/image, place and environment for tourism and product or service marketing.

This identity/image should be an outgrowth of a locally developed vision for this area. The vision is more fully described later under “Organising for Success”. Examples of activities related to this link include:

• Make use of environmental performance in marketing local businesses (for example the new waste disposal at King’s House; faeces collection at the Loch Earn trout farm; use of LPG and additional silencing on “The Dude’s” ski boat). There is a growing public awareness of the issues and a desire to buy from those who demonstrate good practice. Tell customers how you make use of recycled or environment friendly products wherever possible. Reduce/re-use/recycle, and encourage Stirling Council to provide improved recycling facilities in the area. Investigate ways to overcome blockages to the use of non-polluting detergents for cleaning dishes and bedding. Discuss these issues with other businesses locally. Use the advice from agencies, including guidance on low energy design. Make sure that customers know about environment-friendly design or practices that you are using.
• Encourage community-wide sustainability activities, including discussions on how small changes by individuals can add up to meaningful contributions: “Think globally, act locally”. Campaigns such as “Shell Better Britain”, “Going for Green”, and the RSPB’s Sustainability Action Pack offer excellent free advice sheets and ideas covering many sustainability issues, both environmental and social. Call on Stirling Council for advice and assistance as well.
• Develop a local brand logo. This is both image and quality control. Forth Valley Enterprise, Stirling Council or a voluntary agency could offer several years’ support for meeting room and secretariat, withdrawing as the group take on their own responsibility. A local brand logo is a technique of uniting craft, art or food items from a geographic area in a way that gives them a special separate identity that is recognisable and marketable. An example is the State of Kentucky’s “Made in Kentucky” logo. The state markets the programme and holds trade shows to put Kentucky crafts in retail outlets around the world. Peak District Products is an English example used for products made in that National Park.
• Events in the area should develop and support the theme of the chosen image for each community. They can provide a useful way to extend the visitor season. The concert series held each summer in Balquhidder is an example of such events. The events should support and be consistent with the image identified in the vision.

We also recommend that local community groups, businesses and agencies:

• Develop links to the growing visitor market.

Several kinds of visitor markets are clearly growing in this area, and are likely to continue to grow in the next few years. These provide opportunities for related business development, such as:

• Develop subsidiary routes, experiences and products around the Millenium Cycleway, using Lochearnhead and Callander as the primary bases for this. Cycle hire could tap day visitor markets from the central lowlands, selling a public transport-based exploration of local droving history. Arts and crafts “Studio Tours”, similar to those operating very successfully in Ontario, bring weekend visitors to enjoy the countryside and to purchase products from local artisans in their own studios. An example of the promotional materials for one such studio tour has been provided to the Rural Outreach Network.
• Prepare an itinerary for auto touring day trips out of Rob Roy Country. Local self-catering, hotel, and bed and breakfast proprieters could together develop a “three-leaf clover” concept of day tours, with itineraries of points of interest on loops to the northwest (around Crianlarich and Loch Lomond), southwest (Aberfoyle and Doune), and northeast (around Loch Tay and Crieff). These loops could provide a leisurely driving experience for day trippers, that build on the advantages of this area as a central location to stay. Colourful maps, preferably prepared by local artists to provide a distinctive quality, could describe the history, nature and points of interest for each tour. Draft maps could be prepared for spring of 1998, with final maps prepared after testing their usefulness by tourist operators and lodging proprieters.
• Fill the gaps identified by the self-catering providers. There may be a business in bringing out staff from urban areas by minibus/taxi to provide cleaning etc. at weekend changeover for providers who cannot find staff locally (both within the study area and over a wider area). Increased visitors/accommodation should make it viable for some food outlets to stay open longer. When exactly is a matter for market judgement, but it should be possible.
• Pass on the skills. Existing businesses could develop the skills of their staff so that the owner’s role can be duplicated. As customer numbers grow, or as retirement becomes attractive, there is then an opportunity for the business to benefit the locality more and for longer and perhaps for an increase in quality of life for the owner.

We recommend that local efforts be made to:

• Link local businesses to training and computers.
• Identify and provide for individual needs through the medium of the Strathyre Learning Centre.
• Market using Internet. Come together to develop a web site based on the chosen image/identity. At the national/international scale Rob Roy remains a powerful image and should not be ignored as part of this.
• Market to people making a living electronically. Worldwide, more and more people choose where they live because they can conduct their business electronically from anywhere. Choices about where to live are based on the quality of life – a marketable asset here. An organization in Denver, Colorado called the Center for the New West regularly studies the impact and needs of what it terms “lone eagles” – those who work from their homes in the locations of their choosing.

We recommend that local businesses and agencies:

• Develop stronger links to quality.
• Avoid complacency based on current perception of success. Develop quality in groups of business (e.g. accommodation/services/products). Encourage assessment of standards: either by peer groups/friends or external assessors. The drive for quality is changing the expectation of the purchaser. An example is in the English bed and breakfast market. Small lapses in image,cleanliness or maintenance affect repeat bookings/recommendations. Other areas of Scotland may address this issue more effectively and thereby take trade.
• Provide training to those involved in the tourist industry. Many places, recognising that the quality of the tourist experience is critical, train all people who provide services to tourists. Training includes such things as knowing the areas and its resources so you can direct tourists, the impact of the tourist on the economy and jobs, being polite. Training extends to those with casual interactions with tourists. The intent is to make all people ambassadors for the area.

We recommend that local businesses and agencies:

• Strengthen the link to community and locality well-being.
• Set up an area-wide voluntary bed/night or day visitor payment to local environment and community groups. As little as 50p per person/day paid by 50% of visitors could produce income for a local voluntary organisation. This could be used to lever in extra money from grants and agencies that often demand a local contribution. It would complement rather than replace or subsidise council and agency funds. It could for example help establish a community-based job in local maintenance (including erecting signs and way-markings, and cutting back plant growth that obscures them). It could help pay for locally implemented environmental/community facility improvements. Such a scheme is being pursued elsewhere (e.g. in the Peak District).
• Significant new visitor attractions should not be established away from existing settlements, since visitors will tend to stop at the attraction rather than the village. This discourages the use of local shops/cafes etc. and takes income elsewhere.
• Self-catering providers in particular should encourage use of local shops. Tackle this at a distance in advertising and confirmation notices to discourage people from arriving with a car full of food. Emphasise the benefit for the visitor of their involvement in the community. Encourage booking agencies to raise this in their introductory literature.

We recommend that the community look at ways to:

• Create new links to land management.
• Develop local awareness of potential land management jobs associated with the coming National Park, and insist that a considerable percentage of those jobs be filled locally. Stirling Council and the Park management authority should develop appropriate training to ensure that local skills are available. New jobs could also be provided locally through more sensitive forestry practices to reduce the aesthetic and environmental impact of cutting and replanting on Forest Enterprise lands.

We recommend that local agencies examine ways to:

• Link arts, environment, tourism, community to local business opportunities.
• Encourage artists to live and work within the area. Making the area a place for artists to work and live would help diversify the economy beyond tourism, placing few demands on the natural resources. Stirling Council is providing some of the best support to artists in all of Scotland, enhancing this as an area attractive to working artists.
• Stirling College could develop a strong arts/crafts base with support for exemplary projects (providing additional leverage to bids for national/international grants whenever these are available).
• Provide leasehold start-up space for woodland associated crafts, linked to forest interpretation, accessible by footpath from Strathyre. Forest Enterprise, Stirling Arts, Local Tourist Board, and Forth Valley Enterprise (plus 5b) could provide capital, with a management arrangement that involves the community.
• Consider a site at Lochearnhead (for example, the property opposite the water sports centre and next to the car park) for a multi-use building with job creation. This would make use of a strategic location at the junction of A85 and A84. Work space at this site could potentially include a wide mix of uses, including:
  • start-up studio space for local crafts,
  • arts / crafts sales,
  • permanent animation base,
  • outdoor equipment and map sales,
  • hostel space for cyclists and hill-walkers,
  • a relocated village store and/or post office
  • production and marketing of interpretation and information products and local identity,
  • visitor centre,
  • community skills training,
  • marketing centre for local walk-guides and packages (here and wider region) of both high level adventure and lower level, such as interpretation walks and wildlife friendly ‘camera stalking’.
• Stirling Council (arts, community and tourism), the Local Tourist Board, and Forth Valley Enterprise (plus 5b), could jointly provide capital for such a centre. Its planning and management should involve the community, since such a development would in essence provide a new focal point for Lochearnhead.
• Audit local arts and crafts businesses to identify opportunities for growth and training needs. Stirling Council Arts Development Officer to lead.
• Stirling Council should investigate the creation of community banners to be hung on end walls of the three village halls to celebrate the community vision, local arts and crafts, and to improve acoustics in the halls.

We recommend that local agencies find ways to more effectively:

• Link spaces, buildings, and support for local needs and opportunities.
• Survey and audit available redundant or underused buildings and sites. Put in place a programme to provide business opportunity assessment and brief for each, starting with the most obvious contenders. Market to potential investors if necessary. This approach is underway in other 5b areas including Midlands Uplands (Peak District, England). Partners should include Forth Valley Enterprise (plus 5b), Stirling Council (planning and economic development), and the community council.
• Establish a long-term community development approach to business growth in the study area. This approach should provide a worker to co-ordinate local opinion, business needs, opportunity and aspiration with tailored support from agencies. It supports many of the other ideas put forward. An example is the LEVER project in the Peak District National Park, which has already proved successful in a village of only 400 people. Funding could come from Forth Valley Enterprise (plus 5b), and Stirling Council (economic and community development teams) with management involving the local community. It is important that agencies offering grants and support be prepared to operate with maximum flexibility and with notions of appropriate scale of enterprise. In a small community a small job gain can be of great value and is in keeping with the notion of sustainability and the living village. (The team saw an example of current inflexibility in grant allocation stifling local job growth).

Table of Contents

4. ENHANCING COMMUNITY LIFE

4.1 Community Infrastructure

The community infrastructure of the villages is crucial in supporting and contributing to the character of village life. The post offices, village shops, the primary schools, village halls and public transport systems provide structure and framework within which community life can thrive.

We had the opportunity to look first hand at the community infrastructure supporting village life in the three communities of Strathyre, Balquhidder and Lochearnhead. We saw the importance of village shops and post offices as centres for social and information exchange. We saw how the primary school gives vitality to a village and we experienced the public transport system – travelling on the school bus.

The different elements of community are closely linked and strongly support each other. They also both reflect and shape the character of the different villages. In Strathyre we found a community with affordable housing and a primary school, allowing a balance of age groups in the village. We saw how a recent Scottish Homes/Rural Stirling Housing Association Development had been combined with a car park and new village shop to give renewed focus and economic benefit to the village.

In Lochearnhead, the derelict Lochearnhead Hotel site has been identified as a potential site for a new affordable housing development. This would allow young families to live in the village, securing children for the primary school and custom for the village shop and post office. The current viability of a separate village shop, post office and garage shop is questionable without the prospect of new housing or attracting more visitor trade. This is currently difficult due to the speed of passing traffic.

The village of Balquhidder is of a different character. It is located off the main trunk road and over the last ten years has lost its school, shop, and post office. We were impressed by the fund-raising efforts of the community to secure a new village hall, which was under construction at the time of our visit. It is hoped that the hall will be well used and provide an ongoing focus for community life.

This interdependence of the different building blocks of community infrastructure appeared to be recognised by community and officials alike. As part of our consultations, we felt that officials welcomed the opportunity to get together across organisational and departmental boundaries, to focus on the needs of a particular geographical area and meet members of the community. It is particularly important that in villages with fragile infrastructure, decisions are not taken in isolation. For instance, a decision to close a school should also take account of the difficulties of transporting children away to another school and the effect of such a decision on community life in general.

We recommend that:

• Stirling Council in co-operation with the Rural Outreach Network organise further meetings of officials and community on a regular basis.

These meetings should be focused on the needs of a particular geographical area. This might be taken forward as part of the new Rural Strategy. The first meeting should be held by January 1998.

4.2 Motivating People

No discussion of the community life of the villages can be complete without mention of the people themselves, as it is people who give vitality to a community.

We visited many people and saw some examples of members of the community working together to achieve joint outcomes. The Mountain Rescue Team is an excellent example of joint activity and mutual support to get a particular job done. Similarly the residents of Balquhidder have worked together successfully to raise funds for their new village hall. However, it is fair to say that we did not see as many examples of joint activity for mutual benefit as we would have hoped.

The word “apathy” was mentioned many times by residents and officials alike. People said that it was easier to take individual action, to “get on the phone and complain” than to take action jointly or through the Community Council. Indeed, in the Community Council Elections which were due to take place at the time of our visit, balloting was unnecessary as nominations were only received for eight of the twelve available seats for the three communities. People have long memories. They mentioned that they had tried to organise together in the past but were unsuccessful because “the Council doesn’t listen”.

The lack of community action within all three villages was of concern. There are both threats and opportunities on the horizon. For instance there are threats to rural primary schools with the increasing centralisation of education. There are opportunities for the use of new technology with the Learning Centre in Strathyre, and opportunities for leisure and a related transport provision with the building of the new Leisure Centre in Callander. If communities are organised they are better able to offset threats and grasp opportunities.

We met both Councillors and Officials from Stirling Council. With the political backing of a Government committed to community participation and de-centralisation, they seemed genuinely willing to listen to the community. For example, we took four young people from Lochearnhead to the Stirling Council reception which had been organised for us. They put forward a very persuasive case for a “drop-in centre” for young people in Lochearnhead. The Deputy Provost and Councillors listened avidly. We would like to see the community of Lochearnhead give their backing to this proposal. For the Council, it is a chance to prove that they do listen. We recommend that:

• The community of Lochearnhead should support their young people’s request for a “drop-in centre” and also investigate the possibility of developing a playing ground for sports and recreation in cooperation with a local landowner. Young people themselves could organise fund-raising events.
• Parents of children in Lochearnhead primary school should consider forming a Parent Teacher Association which could help with fund-raising events in support of the school and other youth activities.

4.3 Transport

Although all elements of village life are interrelated, the greatest level of concern voiced by the local people was about transport and roads in rural Stirling. We will consider this topic in depth.

The three villages of Balquhidder, Lochearnhead and Strathyre are sparsely populated with a high level of car ownership. Those with cars can gain access to facilities, work, education, and leisure – all of which are essential to quality of life and the viability of communities.

Those without cars experience great difficulties in getting to their day to day duties. The elderly, teenagers, and parents looking after their children in the day were amongst the most common groups with no access to cars.

Some people were finding it practically impossible to stay in the locality; for example one lady in Balquhidder could not get benefits locally because there was no local Post Office. Another mentioned that it will be far too costly to take her children to Stirling Leisure Centre because the round trip with two children costs her £17.00.

Areas of concern noted whilst talking to local communities about transport:

• The difficulty in getting into Stirling for work or further education by 9.00 am on the current bus services from Strathyre.
• The high price to pay for some bus journeys e.g. £8 return to Stirling.
• Annoyance about the varying prices for equivalent journey destinations, depending on what time of day you travel.
• The lack of availability of timetables locally and information about special bus offers.
• Delays in receiving updated timetables from Stirling Council.
• The difficulty in understanding the bus timetables.
• The lack of knowledge about non-school days meaning that some people waited for buses which never arrived.

There are no easy answers to the provision of successful bus services in the area. This is due to:

• The difficulty in co-ordinating the varied needs of transport amongst the communities and relating this to effective provision.
• The high costs of running buses between and to rural settlements.
• The tendency of bus operators who successfully tendered for bus routes to have their base in Stirling. This transfers high costs onto customers because of the cost of getting empty buses out to the rural villages each morning to start their run to Stirling.

Stirling Council’s Transport Co-ordination Officers

We talked with officers responsible for co-ordinating transport in the area, and found them aware and concerned about rural transport problems. They were very willing to listen to concerns or ideas about transport from local individuals or the Local Community Council, and wanted to encourage better communication links.

They found their main problem in providing better bus service and a greater frequency of buses was funding.

Stirling officers have recently agreed to fund the Post Bus service for the next four years. They have however faced a 50% increase in the price they pay for the service with the Royal Mail company, due to the Royal Mail’s increasing need to be profitable.

Innovative and multi-use solutions

A mix of ideas and innovation is needed to help non-car owners become more mobile. In our view, there is no single answer to the complex and difficult rural transport issues in this area, but rather a series of small improvements which together could make a significant difference.

One innovative idea was seen in the Trossachs Trundler bus which was purchased by Gordon Addison as a business venture. He sought the relevant qualifications to be able to tender and outbid other larger companies. Being located in Callander, he is also nearer to the first pick up points.

His business mix includes transporting tourists, locals and school children on the Trundler as well as delivering milk and running a newspaper business. Though this bus service had not broken even this year, Mr Addison felt confident it would in 1998. This kind of multi-purpose rural transport, with a strong local flavour, has the potential to improve local services at a reasonable cost, and should be encouraged.

The team suggests a number of other recommendations as well, designed to gradually improve local transport services:

• Transport providers and rural villages using their services need to liaise more closely in order to develop effective services.
• Non car owners need to communicate their transport needs either individually, through RON or the Local Community Council. By doing so, they will have the greatest prospects of success in creating services tailored to their needs.
• The availability of currently-existing transport services needs to be better communicated and better marketed.
• Stirling Council (Transport Co-ordination team) should increase the availability of timetable leaflets, making them available in local shops and Post Offices. They could also use THE VILLAGER newsletter as an outlet for advertising new or existing bus routes. People in the villages could help by informing providers of timetables when stocks run out. If not done already, the co-ordination team could find a company who circulates marketing information on a regular basis.
• Leaflet designers should test the bus timetables with customers to create user-friendly designs.
• New outlets for marketing the bus services amongst tourists should be found by Tourism Officers to encourage tourist use of the services, thereby increasing the viability of rural transport and encouraging green tourism.
• The Local Community Council and Rural Outreach Network (RON), in conjunction with Stirling Transport Co-ordination Officers, should investigate volunteer-based transport solutions such as community minibuses, car share schemes, or inter-linked buses to the new Callander Leisure Centre.
• A community minibus can be a cheap way of providing access to services and events. Volunteer drivers, with the appropriate operators’ licences, would be needed to run this service.

Unlike commercial bus operators, the legal requirements in running minibuses are far easier, as outlined in Appendix 3. The vehicle would have to be run on a non-profit basis, with insurance, maintenance and fuel costs remaining with local communities.

The Local Community Council or RON could look into setting up an official community car share scheme, liaising with Stirling Transport Co-ordination Officers. A committed local volunteer would be needed to co-ordinate the service. To set up such a scheme, funding for a transport consultant should be sought from Stirling Council. Further information on this option is provided in Appendix 3.

The new leisure facility at Callander, which will open next year, provides an excellent opportunity to explore the feasibility of inter-linked bus services to community programmes at this centre. These services should also be open to any other community members who wish to travel to Callander for shopping or other purposes.

• A mix of other innovative solutions should be examined by the Local Community Council, RON, and Stirling Council to address specific needs.
• Investigate a meals on wheels service for elderly villagers, with the meals distributed by local volunteers.
• A local night school programme for car maintenance could ease car fixing problems in the area, as could mobile mechanics.
• Investigate if there are any schemes to provide finding funding for car loans for young people to fix their cars quickly if they break down, for instance during their first year of employment.
• Investigate funding for people to take driving lessons, or other means to encourage people to learn to drive.
• Investigate raising funds to have a moped in each village, which could be hired by a person whose car breaks down.

Since many of these recommendations are inter-related, all should be looked at in relation to each other to decide the best way forward.

4.4 Road Safety, Signage and Parking

Road Safety

The villages of Lochearnhead and Strathyre are situated on principal routes for tourists, commuters and commercial truck drivers. Cars and lorries often speed through the villages, causing danger and fear among the local communities. Drivers are also travelling so fast they miss opportunities to stop and use village facilities, which would bring income to the area.

Traffic Speed

The 30 mph speed restriction signs in Strathyre were outdated and largely ignored. Villagers spoke many times about the danger to their communities from the speed of passing traffic. The elderly and children are particularly at risk of having a road accident. Lochearnhead does not have a 30 mph limit, and community members expressed similar concerns about safety.

Street lighting

Lochernhead has very few street lights, with most of the village streets pitch black at night. This makes it difficult for villagers and tourists to get back from facilities at night.

Pavements

Villagers from Strathyre and Lochernhead, expressed the need for more substantial pavements to protect them from passing traffic. On our site visit we noticed the inconsistency of pavements in relation to the areas where villagers and tourists walk.

Lay-bys

Haphazard planning along the A85 north of Lochearnhead has resulted in the closure of recently-constructed lay-bys due to poor positioning in relation to the direction and speed of traffic.

Inadequate signage

In Lochearnhead, traffic stopping to turn at the major junction of the A84 and A85 is often confused by the poor signage and road markings. Accidents have occurred here in the past as a result.

During our site visit, we took a representative from the Scottish Office, National Roads Network to see traffic and road signing problems firsthand. We agree with local residents that increasing traffic on trunk roads and inadequate attention to the issues outlined above are creating serious road safety hazards, which require urgent attention. We strongly recommend that:

• The Local Community Council, Stirling Council, the local Tourist Board, and concerned local residents set up meetings in the near future with the Scottish Office National Roads Directorate to develop unified road safety improvements.

These could include such measures as:

• Calming traffic by more effective signing, road markings, speed cameras, or flashing “slow down” lights.
• Lighting and pavements in areas where it is dangerous to walk by day or night.
• Improved road directional signage for tourists.
• Relocation and improvement of lay-by areas.

Parking and signage

Businesses in Lochearnhead and Strathyre are missing opportunities to stop passing tourists due to inadequate parking facilities and signage. Excessive road speed, as well as creating the safety concerns noted above, also discourages drivers from seeing the local attractions and services that are available, and from stopping in time to take advantage of them. Good signage is essential to let visitors know about local facilities, and good parking is so limited in places that it acts as a significant constraint on tourist visits.

Parking has been partially addressed in Strathyre, in conjunction with the recent re-development of the village store. In Lochearnhead, additional parking in areas close to services and facilities should be investigated as a high priority in conjunction with the development of a new multi-use site as described in the Making Links section of this report.

In Balquhidder, parking and traffic are issues related to the many tourists who wish to visit Rob Roy’s grave. The number of visitors has increased steadily over the past several years, especially since the cinema film Rob Roy. Visitors park haphazardly along the road edge, causing annoyance to local people, and occasional traffic problems.

The provision of some form of off-road parking area in the vicinity of the Balquhidder church seems appropriate and timely to alleviate these problems. In this case, the local community should take the lead in selecting the most suitable site, and passing this information on the the Community Council for action.

The whole signage system for Strathyre and Lochearnhead needs looking at. Existing signs are poor at mentioning the range of services and attractions in the villages. We felt there are opportunities to bring many more tourists into village businesses if signs were bolder and brighter. We therefore recommend:

• The Local Community Council, RON, Stirling Council representatives, and the local Tourist Board should meet with the Scottish Office to develop a co-ordinated approach to improved signage for this area.

While the Scottish Office seem to have a unified style to their signage, this system is poor in creating a unique character for the local area. In parts of England, village communities are coming up with their own village or Parish signs to provide a local identity and attract tourists. We see great opportunity for a similar approach here, with artistic signage showing the name of each village and its facilities to slow down car drivers and show them this is a special area.

Stirling Council’s Arts Development Officers and the National Park development team may be of assistance in developing such local signage, working jointly with local communities and artists. Some sample ideas of improved signage are provided in Appendix 4.

An alternative to a name sign would be an un-named art work sculpture at the entrances to villages. This may be easier to gain planning permission from the Scottish Office, and could also help to slow passing cars.

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5. ORGANISING FOR SUCCESS

In the preceding text we have provided recommendations that can help move the study communities forward towards ensuring the area achieves what its people desire for it. The challenge faced locally is organising in a way that enables effective implementation of these recommendations. We have two recommendations to help you organise for success. Additionally, we list suggestions on guiding principles to assist implementation, and some thoughts on why the time to begin is now.

To begin, we recommend that:

• By March of 1998, establish a shared “vision plan” of what local people want the future to be – one each for Balquhidder, Strathyre and Lochearnhead, and a collective vision for the area. Support the vision with specific goals, strategies, actions, and timelines.

We learned that there currently is no locally shared vision for the area’s future, while others from away are developing visions of their own for this area. We believe it is imperative that you speak with one voice on what you the residents of the area envisage for yourselves. Without this, the desires of others will be easily imposed and it will be difficult for you to work together for what you want.

The vision would help direct the form that many of the preceding recommendations take, because it would reflect what is valued about this area and what is wanted for it. For instance, the kinds of diversification activities would be reflected in the vision, or how signage looks and the impact it conveys would be directed by what is in the vision. In many ways the vision sets the tone that actual actions reflect.

There are different ways to go about establishing a “vision plan” containing vision, goals, strategies, actions and timelines. Regardless of how it is done we believe the plan and process for creating it should have the following characteristics:

• The development of the plan should be a public process that involves as much of the community as possible. It should involve youth as they have much to contribute and a large stake in the future. The meetings to develop the plan should be widely publicised and held in a place that is viewed as “community space”.
• The vision should be a narrative statement of what you want the community to be in the future. It should describe a time at least 10 years in the future, written in the present tense as if it was that future date, and serve to inspire by painting a picture of what the future would be. Ideally, the vision is a target that beckons.
• An experienced outside facilitator should direct the vision planning process. In working with the facilitator, know what the local goals for the process are to ensure the design of the process meets local needs. Churchill once said of outside experts, “Always on tap, never on top”. Follow that admonition.
• The supporting goals must be prioritised. Working on too many goals leads to being spread too thin with little getting done. Prioritising narrows the focus.
• The strategies and actions (some may use different terms such as objectives) should assign responsibility to specific people and/or agencies and have a timeline for completion. It is also helpful to indicate budget implications, if any, for each.

Establishing a vision plan can be a lengthy or relatively short process. There are merits to each approach, however, we come down on the side of a shorter process. It is possible to complete a good plan in a month’s time allowing work to begin quickly. (See Appendix 5 for one vision planning format.) We prefer a shorter process because it is important to begin taking steps that generate the momentum necessary to a feeling of success. The planning can be going on concurrently for each community, with a collective plan to be developed after the others are complete – one reflecting the visions of the three.

It is important to understand that the process of creating the plan is as important as the plan itself. The process, when done correctly, serves to bring people together. It is the start of the formation of a group of committed people who develop consensus, take ownership of the plan and help see that it is implemented. The plans will change as circumstances dictate, but with the people-support generated through the planning process, progress is ensured.

We also recommend that:

• The Stirling Rural Partnership should nominate the Rural Outreach Network (RON) to co-ordinate and drive the creation of the vision plans, and support its establishment with staff to carry it out.

The team believes that the area needs a voluntary organisation to serve as the catalyst for action, the co-ordinator of efforts, the partner to other organisations, agencies, businesses and people, and the steward for the process of bringing about positive change. Because RON is in place with a mission complementary to what we propose, it is the logical choice to take on this role.

There currently exist a variety of sources of funding upon which RON can draw to hire staff. The Trossachs Trail Tourism Management Programme provides a local model that can be analysed for use here and an experience base to tap. We do not suggest you copy them exactly. Instead, look at how they are organised, how they obtained varied financial sources of support and how they are staffed as a starting point for RON.

In order for RON to carry out this work it needs to be effectively organised. We would suggest establishing a limited number of committees under the Board that have broad areas of focus. What would appear logical now, but may change over time, would be committees similar to the broad areas of this report. Thus a Landscape committee would consider how to best protect, enhance and take advantage of natural and heritage resources, and deal with land use, wildlife and so on. A Making a Living committee would consider ways to diversify and strengthen the local economy, looking at tourism, the arts, and lone eagles. The Community Infrastructure committee would consider how to support people’s needs through transportation, community meetings, and community structures.

There would be overlap between the committees. For instance, tourism signage would be a function of both the Making a Living and Landscape committees. The RON Board and staff would have to make sure that there was no duplication of effort between committees.

Appendix 6 contains information on “Home Town”, a programme of one of the team members that provides a similar kind of organizational structure. The proposed Landscape committee would roughly coincide with Home Town’s Quality of Place committee, Making a Living with Economic Renewal, and Community Infrastructure with Community.

Guiding Principles

There are a number of guiding principles, that if adopted, will be helpful to developing and carrying out a plan.

• Be committed to the long term. You are engaged in creating and managing change. This takes time and you must understand that it will take longer than you imagine. There has to be an absolute commitment to stay the course over time.
• Celebrate your successes. The team heard much negative comment from the people it spoke with. While understandable, negativity is deadly to determining your own fate. It is easy to be consumed by all the problems that exist with a resulting feeling of hopelessness. To overcome this you must look initially for small victories and then celebrate them. Do not tackle the largest, most difficult problem first. Build your successes, your confidence and your credibility.
• Partner, partner, partner. In today’s world it takes collaboration to achieve anything. You need to partner with government, its agencies, voluntary organisations, business and individuals. Understand that you bring to the table the will of the local people as well as the ability to help your partners achieve their goals.
• Adopt a bias towards action. It is easy to be paralysed by debate. There is nothing that will kill momentum faster than inactivity and indecision. You will make mistakes – it is unavoidable. Accept that and ensure you are taking active steps.

The Time Is Now There are a number of reasons why we feel it is an opportune time to establish a vision plan and begin its implementation here.

• Government reorganisation. Government is reorganising and looking to move decision making down to the local level. While our meetings with agencies showed a genuine desire to do this, we feel there is no clear consensus on how it should or could be done. We believe that a local community such as yours that takes the future into its own hands through a vision plan and then works with government can serve as a model to be emulated. We would suggest involving government now and begin the partnership building with them.
• Major impending change. The national park and the Millenium Cycleway represent changes that will have a significant impact here. If you know what you want, you can work to ensure that the changes support you. If you don’t, you will have to accept what is given.
• Changing economy. All over the world locales are going through wrenching changes in their economies. This area is no different. Again, without vision you must accept what is presented. With one, you exercise some control.

There is no easy panacea to the challenges and opportunities faced here. However, a strong, locally-based voluntary organisation working to help enact a locally-developed vision for the future is an extremely effective way to make the future you want. Ultimately, the future is in your hands. This report is only as effective as you choose to make it for yourselves.

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Appendix 1 Team Biography

Peter Abbott (Peak District National Park, England). A Senior Policy Officer, he has sat on the National Park’s working party dealing with Local Agenda 21 and sustainability, and represents the Park on other committees in this area of work. He has organised a pilot LA21 project using a community development approach within the park and is an Executive Committee member of Derbyshire Rural Community Council.

Kathryn (Kayci) Cook (US National Park Service). Kayci has worked with the National Park Service for 16 years and currently serves as the Park Manager for two national parks in Maryland: the Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine and the Hampton National Historic Site. These parks contain over 40 historic structures and museum collections valued at over $20 million. Kayci is responsible for developing new partnerships and co-ordinating fundraising to support the visitor’s centre and other park facilities and services. Her efforts have raised the profile of both parks with government officials, the media and public.

Emily Gabel-Luddy is the Zoning Administrator for Los Angeles, California. She recently developed a long-range plan for the city that embodies the principals of urban ecology, the creation of which involved a multi-year process of participation by communities throught Los Angeles. Particularly interested in the impacts of land conversion, Emily also assisted in the development of a technical instruction manual for use by local governments to mitigat eht effects of suburban development on hillsides.

Karen Kerley works for the Rural Development Commission as a Rural Development Officer for Wiltshire, England. Karen is responsible for RDC’s support for Rural Community Councils, Village Halls and Rural Transport Providers. She has lead responsibility across the South West of England for housing and welfare issues such as social deprivation, crime and health.

Ron Reid is a principal of Bobolink Enterprises, a consulting firm in Ontario, Canada, that specialises in natural heritage preservation. Much of Ron’s work involves using consensus building to develop and implement strategies to protect natural areas in the Ontario countryside. He recently completed an action plan for a community-based land trust, identifying long term priorities and strategic objectives. He has expertise in private land stewardship and community organisation development and management.

William (Bill) Steiner (South Carolina Downtown Development Association, USA). Bill is Assistant Director of the Association, where he works to help communities build organisations that recognise and appreciate the distinctiveness of their town and provide the civic opportunity for people to contribute to their community. He is responsible for the creation and implementation of a programme called ‘Downtown as a Classroom’ which builds partnerships between schools and downtowns and students and their communities, and which has resulted in local pride, improved grades, job offers and a sense of community.

Audrey Wedderburn (Countryside Commission, England). Trained as a Planner, Audrey is fully conversant with rural planning issues. Her current post involves liaison with volunteer groups. Other relevant experience includes sustainable tourism.

Anna White (Essex County Council, England). Anna previously worked as an Interpretive Ranger in Kent, and is now with Essex working with a team of 25 rangers on a variety of interpretive projects. Other special issues include marketing and research. Anna has been involved in a wide range of interpretive and educational projects including exhibitions, Green Fairs, themed events, the development of a Visitor Centre, trails and publications.

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Appendix 2 List of Contacts

LIST OF RESIDENTS/AGENCIES/WORKERS CONTACTED DURING VISIT

Sunday 5 October, Public Meetings in Lochearnhead, Balquhidder, Strathyre

Abbreviations:
BHC – Balquhidder Hall Committee
V – The Villager (Comm: Newsletter
AS – Alzheimer’s Scotland
RON – Rural Outreach Network
SSB – Strathyre School Board
SRC -Strathyre Recreation Committee
SHC – Strathyre Hall Committee

Mrs R S Edwards Neil Barber (BHC) Marguerite Kobs Penny Hannah Christine Hulme Allan Hulme Margaret Ritchie (Editor – V) Karen Methven Clare Higney Maureen Strong Hilary Prendergast Christine Hunter Peter McIntee Fiona Leishman Pam Hopkins (AS, RON) Lawrie Hopkins (V) Jamie Shepherd Deirdre Baker Duncan Scott (RON)

Dawn Menday K. Scott Neil MacArthur Liz Brown (Chair SSB, Sec SRC) Tom Brown Jessie Gibson R G Gibson Frank Ferrall Pat McIntosh (Chair SHC) Cathie van der Watt (Clerk to SSB) L. Marks J. Marks P L Jones Susan Revie Annette Brown Linda Anderson Lorna Heron Jane Heron

All the individuals listed above are residents in the study area (Balquhidder, Lochearnhead, Strathyre). Also in attendance at all the public meetings was the Secretary of the Rural Outreach Network (local hosts for the Exchange Programme).

Wednesday 8 October, Agencies Forum Morning: Transport and Community Participation

Kate Smithson Lindsay Rouse David Brown David Littlejohn Pat MacIntosh Gordon Addison A McEwen Shelagh McPartland Sheila Moffat J Shearer B Gillespie Sue Sadler Lynne Murray (RON)

Stirling Council, Environmental Services Stirling Council Transport Co-ordination Stirling Council Transport Co-ordination Forth Valley Enterprise Strathyre Hall Committee Addison of Callander Transport Services User Transport Services User Transport Services User Stirling Council, Arts Development Officer Stirling Council, Public Arts Rural Forum Scottish Child Minders Association

Wednesday 8 October Agencies Forum Afternoon:

Donald Balsillie Tom Hunter Robert Stevenson David Warnock Hugh Clayden Gill Christie Ian McCourt Felicity McLelland Donald Morrison Robert Hunter Thomas Gibbon Allison Scambler Beverley Francis Hugh Lightbody Paul Doherty

Scottish Natural Heritage Stirling Council, Environmental Services Forth Valley Health Board Trossachs Trail Tourism Management Programme Forest Enterprise Stirling Council Ranger Service Stirling Council Community Support Services Stirling Council Community Support Services Scottish Office, National Roads Directorate Stirling Council, Environment Services Police; Mountain Rescue Service; Lochearnhead Youth Club Stirling Council, Planning Rural Stirling Housing Association Rural Stirling Partnership Stirling Council, Chief Executive’s Services

Thursday 9 October Arts and Crafts Forum

Karen Ward Jackie Shearer Jane Heron Pat MacIntosh Annette Brown Neil C MacArthur M K Bell Jessie Gibson Leslie MacKenzie

Assistant Events Officer, Stirling Council Arts Development Officer, Stirling Council Heroncraft, Strathyre (Leathercrafts) Toshcraft (Pyrography, Handcrafts etc.) Spinning, Weaving etc. Painting/Drawing (and Mrs MacArthur – MacArthur’s Fine Foods) Knitting, handcrafts Knitting, Sewing Crafts, Painting, 3D Decoupage West Highland Animation (Broadcast Animation – GAELIC)

Thursday 9 October, Public Presentation of Preliminary Findings

Christine Turner Roddy Ross Ann Ross Theresa Robertson Lawrence Oldham Catriona Oldham Pat MacIntosh Frank Verrall Lawrie Hopkins Maurice Baker James Scobie Carolyn Scobie Allison Scambler Fiona Leishman Penny Hannah Dave Rossiter Rene Black J McNaughton Peter McIntee Ken McDonald R MacGregor Annette Brown Linda Anderson Ian Peattie Tony Brown Angus Cameron Penny Scott

Scottish Natural Heritage MacLaren Leisure and Recreation Centre (RON) Duke of Edinburgh Awards Scheme Crianlarich, Community Support, Stirling Council Resident, Balquhidder Resident, Balquhidder Strathyre Hall Committee Strathyre Hall Committee, Recreation Committee Resident (Lochearnhead, Holiday Cottage) Scouts Station, Glen Ogle Resident, Balquhidder Resident, Balquhidder Stirling Council, Planning Resident, Balquhidder Resident, Balquhidder Standing Waves Leisure, Strathyre Standing Waves Leisure, Strathyre Resident, Balquhidder Resident, Balquhidder Stirling Council, Environmental Services Resident, Balquhidder Resident, (Crafts) Strathyre Resident, (Crafts and Ponies) Strathyre Resident, Lochearnhead (Glen Ogle Tweeds) Resident, Strathyre Resident, Hotelier, Lochearnhead Resident, Lochearnhead

Also: Rural Outreach Network, Local Organisers: Duncan Scott, Val Simpson

In addition to these public meetings, during the week the Exchange team travelled extensively within the three communities of Balquhidder, Lochearnhead and Strathyre looking at tourist centre, local businesses, farming, fishing, sports and leisure centres, transport facilities and community services.

On Monday 6 October, Stirling Council held a reception for the Exchange team, the local organisers and guests from the communities and agencies involved the exchange. The team met elected members of Stirling Council led by the Deputy Provost, Councillor margaret Brisley.

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Appendix 3: Transport Options

a. Voluntary Car Schemes

Where conventional public transport is unavailable or unsuitable then informal lift-giving from neighbours or family will often solve a problem, but such lifts may not be available on a regular basis or at suitable times. Then some form of transport provided by the community on a not-for-profit basis can be the solution.

Those who have cars and spare time are linked to those in need of help with travel. Schemes may cover a single village, a group of communities or a wider area. At the hub is a co-ordinator who recruits the volunteers, receives the requests for assistance and ensures that someone is there when needed.

The main advantage of a car scheme is its flexibility. It can respond to individual requests and provide a door to door service to various destinations at exactly the time the passenger requires. It is particularly useful for those with some form of disability, but there is nothing in law which defines the type of passenger able to use a car scheme. Each group will make its own decisions about whom to carry and what type of journey can be made. They will wish to ensure that existing services are used wherever possible, as it is not sensible to undermine these facilities.

As the scheme relies on volunteer drivers, the cost of provision can be relatively low, bearing in mind it is an individual journey. Passengers pay a contribution and mileage payments are made to the car owner/driver to cover expenses. Insurance companies will normally accept such use under private and domestic cover.

Any financial deficit is met either by local authority subsidy or through fund-raising. Such schemes become, in effect, not-for-profit community taxis. Hospital car schemes operate in much the same way, except that the Health Authority is the source of finance. External funders will have guidelines on how their money should be spent and who should benefit from public subsidy.

Training for the volunteer drivers is important, particularly some tuition in handling people, for a volunteer driver may be inexperienced in helping the disabled.

A car scheme is best able to cater for relatively infrequent individual travel needs in an area where there is a pool of car-owning volunteers and a strong community spirit. It can also be the source of valuable information on local needs, identifying patterns of travel, linking journeys and developing additional, wider community transport projects.

b. Community Buses

Running a commercial bus service is costly and it requires volume to attain reasonable returns for the operator. In some rural areas the potential is just not high enough to make such journeys possible but there are patterns of travel which would allow individual journeys to be linked.

A solution giving a lower break-even must be sought. Driver’s wages are a major cost and if these can be obviated then a viable service could be possible in areas where commercial operation is not achievable.

Experience has shown that where a community or group of villages have the necessary commitment and a wide measure of local support, a service owned and operated by the community can provide the solution. The legislation allows some relaxation for not-for-profit voluntary groups who wish to provide public services with vehicles seating 9-16 passengers. The need for volunteers to hold public service vehicle drivers licenses or to have a qualified transport manager is removed, but they must ensure that national maintenance standards are met and all routes are subject to the usual rules of registration. Vehicles operated on this basis are known as (Section 22) Community Buses. The regulations do not allow the use of vehicles with less than 8 seats or a carrying capacity in excess of 16.

Part of the duty payable on fuel used to operate registered local bus services is rebated by the Department of Transport. It is only applicable to services open to the general public. Fuel used by Community buses on such routes is eligible for rebate.

Costings for this type of service need careful assessment. Although there are no wages to be paid to the drivers as they are all volunteers, other costs remain and if the annual mileage is low then the fixed costs of tax, insurance, etc.. may give a relatively high cost per mile. It is still necessary to achieve a reasonable annual mileage and passenger totals but the break-even point for a viable operation serving more sparsely populated areas is lower.

The establishment and maintenance of a self-help transport scheme requires considerable dedication and hard work. It is not for the faint hearted. It is essential that any group considering this option are fully aware of the ongoing commitment needed to provide the service on a regular basis. They will be running a small business, albeit without waged staff, and failure to operate any registered journeys can lead to penalties being imposed on the organisation.

However, there are many examples where a dedicated group of individuals truly understand their locality and its people and operate in a professional manner using well-trained volunteers. This combination of the “heart of the volunteer” with the “head of a businessman” can result in a service which is part of the community and greatly valued by local people. In these circumstances it is not unknown for car owners to choose travel by “our bus”.

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Appendix 5

One Vision Planning Approach

The following process is one to consider in developing a vision plan. Hold a series of four 2 hour meetings in the evening or on Saturdays. Use an experienced facilitator. Some prefer to hold the meetings every other week, others do them in four consecutive weeks.

Meeting One

List the strengths and weaknesses of your place on a flip chart visible to all.

Break into smaller groups of 5-6 people with each developing a narrative statement for your place at least ten years in the future. The statement should use the strengths and weakness as the raw material for what is protected and retained, and what is changed.

Reconvene and read the statements. Ask one person from each breakout group to meet before the second meeting to combine the various statements into one.

Meeting Two

Review the first meeting results.

Review and modify, if needed, the vision statement.

Break into groups and ask each group to develop the 5 top goals to make the vision happen.

Reconvene, list all the goals on a flip chart and prioritize. One easy way to prioritize is to give each person 4-5 colored sticky dots. They can distribute the dots any way they like: one dot on each of their top goals, all on one, or some other combination.

List the goals in priority order taking the top 4-5 for action.

Meeting Three

Review the first two meetings’ results.

Ask the people to self select around the top goals and divide into those groups.

Have each group develop a list of strategies for each goal and under each strategy specific action steps to get it done. The action steps should list who is responsible, the targeted completion date, and any costs associated with each action.

Meeting Four

Complete strategies and action steps.

Allow the last hour to discus organizational steps needed to carry out the plan. This will lead to considerable discussion. RON will be taking on some of this, but there will have to be discussion and strategising on who else to involve and how. This is the beginning of putting the plan into action!

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Appendix 6 HOME TOWN COMMITTEE RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACTIVITIES

ORGANIZATION: The organization is made up of board and staff. It is responsible for the welfare of the organization and to see that work is progressing in the other three areas. The board must ensure that theorganization is representative of the community and is providing ways for all interested people and organizations to have input and involvement. The board is also responsible to ensure adequate financial and human resources. Participants should include local government, the chamber of commerce, civic groups, businesses, historical and beautification groups, schools, churches, the library. Following are organizational committees that can be established at the organization’s discretion.

Executive Committee

• Program Manager Supervision Activities:
  • Quarterly Manager Report to South Carolina Downtown Development Association (SCDDA)
  • Attendance at SCDDA meetings and 12 month performance reviews
  • Yearly salary reviews
• Fiscal Operations and Administration Activities:
  • Program Budget, and a reporting system understood by all
  • Monthly Treasurer’s report
  • Office set up
• Program Management Activities:
  • Monthly board agenda
  • Issues and policies identification and recommendations
  • Informational materials for board meetings
  • month program reviews
  • Annual retreat and goal setting session

Outreach Committee

• Communications and Membership Activities:
  • Media contacts and strategy
  • Mailing list
  • Speakers Bureau
  • Public information meetings
  • Quarterly newsletter
• Fund Raising Activities:
  • Fund raising strategy and activities
  • Program brochure
• Nominating Committee Activities:
  • Evaluate and nominate new board members
  • Orientation for new board and committee members
  • Volunteer development strategy

COMMUNITY: The community committee is responsible for the development of a sense of community which is tied to the physical place of your town. A sense of community is developed when people share, celebrate and pass along to their children the history, culture, values and tradition of their home town. Community is also built through shared responsibilities to and for the needs, wants, and welfare of the people in your town. Underlying a sense of community is “civic infrastructure” – how well or poorly people in the town work together and address problems and opportunities. The committee understands the uniquecommunity characteristics of your town finding ways to promote and build them. It must also assess needs and ways to meet those. Activities can include special events that bring people together and programs tomeet the needs of people whether recreational, informational, or for support.

• Community Inventory Activities:
  • Evaluate and list your community characteristics
  • Evaluate ways characteristics are enhanced or weakened
  • Inventory and evaluate community needs
  • Inventory and evaluate the civic infrastructure
  • Develop strategies to build community based on above evaluations
• Image Enhancement Activities:
  • Logo and slogan
  • Graphics package
• Special Events Activities:
  • Promotional calendar
  • Christmas event
  • Seasonal events and festivals
• Other Community Builders Activities:
  • Televillage
  • Town Meeting(s)
  • Town-wide social (picnic, BBQ, etc.)
  • Farmers Market
  • Baby-sitting coops
  • Community gardens

ECONOMIC RENEWAL: One of the most profound, yet least understood changes that has occurred in our towns is a changed economy. The economic renewal committee is responsible for developing a clear picture of the state of the local economy and devising ways to adapt and change to meet today’s conditions. The committee must be responsive to the things that contribute to the sense of community and develop a response that supports the local community – what we call an economy of community.

• Economic Evaluation Activities:
  • Evaluate demographics
  • Business inventory
  • Business survey
  • Conduct 4 workshops leading to an understanding of:
    1. Access to capital
    2. Business environment
    3. Infrastructure
    4. Human resources
    5. Quality of life,
  • and strategies to:
    1. Plug the money leaking out of the community
    2. Support existing business
    3. Encourage new enterprises
    4. Recruit compatible new business

• Space Use Activities:
  • Base map with commercial use identification
  • Placement/use strategy
• Support Existing Business/Encourage New Entrepreneurs Activities:
  • Business Workshops
  • Business incentives
  • Start-up package
  • Information sharing

QUALITY of PLACE: The quality of place committee is concerned with the built and natural environment and institutions that use our built and natural resources to contribute to quality of life in your place. Physical design and land use planning laws are extremely important to a community. Recreation, housing, and public infrastructure such as education, parks, libraries and cultural amenities are critical to quality of life. The committee is also responsible for educating the public about quality of place and public decisions which contribute or detract from it.

• Quality of Life Assessment Activities:
  • Participate in Economic Renewal workshops, analyzing information
  • from the infrastructure and quality of life workshops
  • Evaluate land use laws
  • Inventory quality of life assets and liabilities to include:
  • Parks and open space
  • Recreation amenities
  • “Lovable places”
  • Historic and natural resources
  • Pedestrian and bicycle friendliness
  • Housing
  • Downtown
  • Education
  • Use inventory to produce map of uses, and quality of life assets and liabilities
• Financial Assistance and Incentives Activities:
  • Small grant program
  • Low interest loan pool
  • State/Federal grant and loan research and packaging
• Education and Technical Assistance Activities:
  • Education workshops
  • Design guidelines
  • Design assistance
• Regulation and Enforcement Activities:
  • Review current ordinances and regulations
  • Review building codes
  • Review enforcement policies
  • Make recommendations to city

HOME TOWN – A Community Renewal Program

Tranquil tree-lined streets. Casual sidewalk conversations. Healthy, vibrant downtown. Meaningful jobs for all. Harmony. Quality, multi-income housing. Or Seedy, dirty streets. Hostile, constant bickering. Abandoned, unkept property. Trash. Crime. Fear. Lack of civility. No jobs, bad jobs.

Which of these best describes your town? Or are you somewhere in between? The first is how we envision and perhaps idealize the way our communities once were. The second is where many feel they are headed. The last half of the twentieth century has brought change at an ever increasing pace. It has left many unsettled because the stability that people want and expect is undermined by change. This creates anxiety, fear, the building of walls, retreat.

Not surprisingly, however, we humans are resilient, and want and are looking for ways to get back to the ideal. It is neither simple nor easy, but the spirit to regain what we need from the places in which we live is strong and can be tapped. Home Town is a program to organize and channel that positive spirit for the benefit of communities and the people who inhabit them. The rapid pace of change is not going to let up. But change does not have to be regrettable and we can work to manage it. Home Town provides the tools and process to help communities help themselves. The name Home Town was chosen because it invokes in our minds the kind of place we all wish to inhabit.

Home Town is brought to you by the South Carolina Downtown Development Association. The SCDDA has worked with downtowns since 1983, and since 1990 it has been called increasingly to work with entire communities. Because downtown is not isolated from the rest of town and because our changing times dictate a more holistic, integrated approach to community problem solving, the SCDDA changed its mission in 1995. It exists to help communities build “community of place.” We define community of place as a shared sense of community tied to the place in which people live. Home Town is a program to make this connection happen.

Experience has taught us that in order to solve community problems a compre-hensive approach must be taken. Consequently, Home Town deals with three key critical components of a community: its economy, the people in the place, and the physical space they inhabit. In order to manage the change in these areas a staffed organization is created.

The Home Town organization is a nonprofit group formed to carry out the program. It is directed by a broadly representative board of directors which hires full time staff to assist the board in carrying out its work. The organization is directed by a vision plan that it creates with the entire community. Funding comes from the public and private sectors. The organization establishes committees in three key areas to implement the vision plan. The committee functions are described below.

Economic Renewal. No place can survive without an economy. It is the way by which inhabitants are able to sustain themselves and remain in the community as contributing members. The changing world around us has fundamentally altered the economies of communities. This committee is responsible for understanding the local economy and developing ways to strengthen it. The committee goes through a structured process to identify where it is strong and weak, where money is going into and out of the community, developing ways to keep more money at home, looking at how to support local business, and encouraging local entrepreneurs. The committee is responsible for assessing the impact of economic decisions based on whether they contribute to or take away from the sense of community of the town.

Community. The people who make up a place and the things that they share create a sense of community tied to the place they inhabit. In order to have a sense of community people must interact, share, and establish an interdependence. If they do not, you simply have people who live in proximity to each other, lacking a sense of community. Many of the social problems we see in our towns can be traced to the breakdown of this civil interaction and interdependence. The community committee is responsible for working to rebuild the sense of community. Festivals, community events, recreation, arts, school activities are some ways that towns currently provide some sense of community. This committee evaluates what exists now and finds additional ways to build the sense of community. Whether this is achieved thought traditional methods or using new technology that connects people electronically, the committee’s job is the rebuilding of those ties that make a place a true community.

Quality of Place. The third piece of Home Town is the physical space we inhabit, its quality and arrangement. These quality of place aspects of our communities have a major impact on how livable a place is. The design and layout of our towns, and the ability to get around easily and by various modes of transport have much to do with the quality of the place and the ability of people to interact. Parks, housing, schools, downtown, historic preservation, planning practices and laws, and the countryside around us all make up our environment. All places are endowed with a number of ingredients that contribute to a strong quality of place. At the same time every community has areas that need improvement. The committee works to ensure that strengths are enhanced and protected while the areas of deficiency are addressed.

These three areas overlap. For instance, the quality of the educational system and other community features has much to do with the ability to encourage entrepreneurs to remain or relocate to your community. Or, recreation, arts, and cultural activities can be strengthened by designing spaces so people can more easily interact. Consequently, it is important to have a strong Home Town organization which ensures that overlapping activities are coordinated. It is also important to have a strong organization capable of bringing together the many component parts of a place to work together. The organization is the foundation upon which the rest of the program rests. Creating a strong, broadly representative, organization that employs competent staff will determine the success of the program.

For information: Bill Steiner, SCDDA, P.O. Box 11637, Columbia, SC 29210

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