The community council in Kenmore has pledged it will continue to be a voice for local people amid uproar over plans for a major redevelopment of the Taymouth Castle estate.
The group’s spokesman Colin Morton was speaking as a petition launched by the Protect Loch Tay campaign was on course to top 14,000 signatures.
The protest was launched just over a week ago to oppose plans for a £300 million revamp of the Taymouth Castle estate by an American-based real estate firm.
Discovery Land Company wants to build 208 exclusive properties, as well as a members-only clubhouse, sports centre and “wellness facility” at Taymouth.
Protect Loch Tay says it is gathering around 2,000 signatures a day from people around the world who do not want to see the area become a “billionaires’ playground”.
Taymouth Castle’s troubled legacy
The Taymouth Castle plans are set to be discussed at a public meeting in Aberfeldy on Thursday.
Protect Loch Tay said John Swinney MSP and Pete Wishart MP has agreed to arrange the session to locals could raise their concerns about the project.
They will also be on the agenda when Kenmore and District Community Council next meets at the end of August.
Community council member Mr Morton said the group wants to hear from people on all sides of the debate.
And it is keen to address some of the “scaremongering” over the project which has arisen, he added.
There are only a few hundred people. And theirs are the most important voices here
“Taymouth Castle has a legacy of developers not doing what they promised,” said Mr Morton.
“But the majority of the feedback I am hearing locally is that there is a sense of things going in the right direction this time, and that Kenmore is already beginning to see some benefits.”
He said the community council had developed a good relationship with Discovery Land Company, but it had a duty to be impartial and independent.
“Our responsibility is to local people, not to think of the wider picture,” he said.
“Kenmore as a community is quite small. There are only a few hundred people. And theirs are the most important voices here.”
Taymouth Castle protesters ‘overjoyed’
Rob Jamieson, of the Protect Loch Tay campaign, said his group had been overjoyed and overwhelmed at the continuing outpouring of support for its efforts.
It is calling on the Scottish Government to halt any further expansion of Discovery Land Company’s “overdevelopment” at the Taymouth Castle estate.
And it is questioning whether community councils are equipped to deal with projects on this scale.
Mr Jamieson said he was keen to speak out on behalf of the great many people who opposed the development.
“We will go anywhere there is an opportunity to talk about this,” he said.
“We are receiving around 2,000 signatures a day, as well as people getting in touch and offering to help.”.
Developers ‘open to questions and concerns’
The Discovery Land Company project is the latest in a string of redevelopment plans for Taymouth Castle which have come to nothing in recent years.
The property was bought by Discovery Land Company in 2018.
The company has subsequently purchased a series of properties and parcels of land around the area.
These include the former village shop and post office, the Kenmore hotel and the coffee shop and boating jetties on the loch side.
It has also recently acquired 7,000 acres of land in Glenlyon, which will “serve as the community’s sporting club, offering up opportunities for fishing, stag hunting and more”.
A spokesperson for Discovery Land Company said: “We will continue to work with the Kenmore and District Community Council to ensure the accuracy of information provided, enabling informed decision-making based on facts rather than speculation.
“We remain open to addressing any questions or concerns and providing regular updates on the development through the Welcome to Taymouth website and via public exhibitions such as the one held in Kenmore in June.”
• Thursday’s meeting, arranged by John Swinney and Pete Wishart, is planned for the Locus Centre, Aberfeldy, from 7-8.30pm.
