Stirlingshire village fights back against car park ownership refusal

An appeal has been lodged over Stirling Council’s decision to refuse community ownership of a Stirlingshire car park.

The council blocked a bid for the asset transfer of Balmaha car park to East Loch Lomond Community Trust in November 2024, after a four-year wrangle.

Now, Balmaha locals have submitted an appeal to the Scottish Government’s Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA), asking officials to overturn the local authority’s decision.

All necessary paperwork has been received by the government, and the case is ready to be allocated to a DPEA reporter.

According to the DPEA website, the reporter “will, in due course, review the documents and submissions, and consider what, if any, further procedures are necessary in order to progress matters.”

A site inspection of the car park is also expected to take place, and a target final decision date of April 8 has been set.

£100,000 car park income was sticking point for council

Stirling Council’s Finance, Economy and Corporate Support Committee rejected the handover of Balmaha car park on the east side of Loch Lomond, citing the £100,000 it generates per year for the council as the main reason for refusal.

The facility was free to use when the community first applied to take ownership in 2020, but Stirling Council later imposed charges.

The council failed to make a decision on the community asset transfer bid until four years later, at the end of 2024.

Currently, the money generated by the car park goes into a general pot, to be used across the entire Stirling Council area.

East Loch Lomond Community Trust‘s business case proposed using the car park funds to directly benefit community projects in Balmaha, as well as creating new jobs for locals.

But the council committee decided any benefits the asset transfer might make to the immediate Balmaha community would not outweigh the negatives for the rest of the council area, should the £100,000 income be lost.

‘Sympathy for all Stirlingshire communities’

At the time of the refusal, Stirling East SNP councillor Gerry McLaughlan said: “I have a lot of sympathy for Balmaha and their community.

“The thing is, I think that sympathy extends across virtually all of our communities.

“This is a time when there’s a real pressure on council services, and that’s what we’ve got to weigh up.”

He added: “This [car park] brings money into the council at a time when we need revenue.

“I’m of the mind that the economic regeneration may well come into Balmaha, but it’s at the detriment of other areas, similar in quality.”

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