Plans submitted to introduce parking charges for visitors at Loch Lomond Shores tourist attraction

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A bid to introduce car parking charges at a popular shopping centre on the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond has been lodged with planners.Bosses at Loch Lomond Shores have submitted a planning application for changes to its car parks in order to facilitate the introduction of car parking charges next year.From early Spring 2025, Loch Lomond Shores plans to charge visitors, blaming the move on increased costs after the Covid pandemic and ‘a need to continue funding maintenance and improvements’ at the visitor attraction.The charges set to be introduced there range from 50p for half an hour to £4 for a full day.The proposed charges would be as follows: 50p for up to 30 mins; £1 for up to 2 hours; £2 for up to 4 hours; and £4 for all day.Management there says that research shows that 75-per cent of visitors stay for an average of an hour and 45 minutes.Commenting on the introduction of car park charges, a representative from the proprietors at Loch Lomond Shores said: “It has been a difficult decision to make as we understand that free parking is a popular part of our offering for our visitors. "However, after much research, analysis and discussion, their introduction is a necessity to maintain and improve the visitor experience here at Loch Lomond Shores going forward.

Click here for more news and sport from West Dunbartonshire. “Our site covers 44 acres and has a diverse environment including woodland, beaches, large external pedestrian areas, walkways, playpark and retail buildings – all of which require constant specialist maintenance year-round.“Our team works hard to maintain all of this but, the cost of maintenance, repairs and improvements has sky-rocketed post-Covid and, if we want to continue being a high-quality