Loch Lomond golf course given the green light

Nov 21 2008 by Laura McLachlan, Lennox Herald (main ed)

GOLF enthusiasts across the world will soon be flocking to Loch Lomond for a new challenge after controversial plans for a new 18-hole course were given the green light on Monday.

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park planning committee gave the new course near Luss – a second for world renowned Loch Lomond Golf Club – the go-ahead, despite objections from a major conservation group.

Woodland Trust Scotland had voiced fears that the course would destroy ancient woodland habitat and that it would damage the environment the national park authority is charged with protecting.

But the park authority said its planning officers had ensured the golf club redesigned the course specifically to fit in with the environmentally sensitive area.

Andrew Fairbairn, policy and communications manager for the Woodland Trust, said: “We are very disappointed at the decision.

“We belive the national park could have done more to protect the environment it is charged with protecting.

“Our research has shown that some areas of the woodland are over 400 years old and of a very high biodiversity and value.

“If the national park can’t help the places of value then who else is going to do it? It is a bad example of how we care for the environment.”

However, a spokesperson for the national park said there had been “factual inaccuracies” presented by the Woodland Trust Scotland at the planning committee regarding the formal status of the woodland, their prior knowledge of the case, and the numbers of trees to be felled in the Allt’ a Ghuilliann woodland.

The golf club worked closely with Scottish Natural heritage, the Scottish Golf Environment Group, Sepa and Forestry Commission Scotland, as well as the Park Authority, to minimise the physical impact on the recognised special qualities of the site.

The permission was granted subject to conditions and a legal agreement safeguarding landscape, woodland, lochshore, biodiversity, protected species, public access, geology and archaeology issues.

The home of the Scottish Open has had a difficult month, with the club facing financial difficulty and now in the hands of a US firm of business recovery specialists.

The club has a 700-strong membership, which is thought to include no more than 100 UK members, each paying fees of up to £40,000.