VILLAGE IDEAS DAY
The first public step towards creating the plan was a Village Ideas Day on Saturday 27th January 2024.
People were encouraged to say what they wanted for the future of the village. For folk who couldn’t come, all the information and questions were available afterwards together with paper and online comments forms.
The hundreds of ideas that were suggested paint a fascinating picture of the community’s aspirations and concerns in early 2024, and highlight some clear priorities for action.
THE DAY
A big thank you to all 175 local people who turned out at the village ideas day in the Leven Centre. Not bad for a village of around 700!
Excellent locally-made sandwiches and cakes, a bouncy castle, a bicycle-powered smoothie maker, historical photos and documents about the village, the village fire appliance and police car, and lots of other local stalls and activities encouraged people out to have their say.
WHAT WERE PEOPLE ASKED?
The information boards and questions shown below asked everyone about the big challenges facing the village: community life, transport, housing, jobs, landscape, climate change and anything else that people wanted to suggest. Click on any of the boards below to download the PDF.
As well as the 175 people who came to the Village Ideas Day, a further 30 folk shared their thoughts after the event by email, comment forms and an online survey that closed a fortnight after the event.
In total, well over 500 ideas were suggested in response to the information and questions that were shared. They are a strong basis for working out a plan of action - the next stage in the process. A big thank you to everyone!
There are lots of exciting suggestions with some clear priorities, as shown in the summaries below. Click on the circles for more information; their size reflects the number of similar comments. All ideas suggested by more than one person are included. You can see all 500+ ideas here.
Underneath each graphic are a few selected quotes to bring out more detail.
200+ FOLK, 500+ IDEAS
1 Community life
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“Teenagers/young people – the ones too old for kids stuff, but younger than 16; need spaces that don't cost money to be in, just to exist, relax and socialise”
“Skateboard park if that is what under 18s want. If not, ask them what they want. Do they want space to meet in regularly?”
“Support for female patients now – for male and female patients Fort William is the closest Family Planning/sexual health clinic now and that is fortnightly.”
“Children who are carers. Children with ASN. Widowed persons. Single parents. Teenagers.”
“Inequalities - inclusion of all could use some work – support more young people wishing to help the community”
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“No post office. Can we have it back? Sorely missed.”
“Greater and better use of the Leven Centre – open at weekends and more classes to attract locals.”
“We need the Leven Centre to support more groups – not just sports – on evenings and weekends”
“Community shop where people can come and refill containers e.g. sugar, flour, pasta, detergent, washing soap, lentils, dried fruit”
“more mobile services - a bank and Crown Vets use Ice Factor car park on a fairly regular basis, possibly something like dog grooming facilities, Fort William Tyre Services, anything that has a mobile facility”
“Kinlochleven Fire Station unable to respond due to no crew available. Fire service recruitment issue. Station needs 20 personnel, only have 10”
“In need of a care home”
“We have an all weather sports field yet can't access it for regular use due to the contract with the school builders, might be something to renegotiate”
“Midgie magnets for the village to clear midgies”
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“Keep services in village such as post office, doctors, fire station and childcare for under threes”
“Re-open aluminium story ideally with a café”
“Signage information about the village’s heritage”
“Empty shop units in main street. Why? Looks awful. Should be developed as shops”
“Work schemes to improve the environment / job opportunities for young people – tourism is not the “be all and end all”
“It would be lovely if the wonderful mens shed could do a bit of skills tuition for young persons. (The school having trouble offering this.) Maybe womens shed too!”
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“Maintaining the infrastructure already here – pavements, weed killer, bins”
“Maybe reinstate a village clean up crew that will help with litter and keep kerbsides weed free”
“We need the monthly skip back in the village to clear rubbish such as sofas etc and broken toys from gardens who cannot get it to the recycling point in town”
“I've no idea why the neglected Mamore Lodge, with all its potential, has not been developed into a wildlife, health and well-being hub for day visitors and residential guests- a terrific waste of a resource on our doorstep. If JAHAMA really want to create a meaningful, environmentally supportive and enhancing development they are missing a trick letting this resource rot away”
“Play parks, deer fences, more equipment”
“Pier area - completely wasted, wouldn't take much to clear out, remove broken boat and pedalo, make secure gate for local use boat ramp and promote area. Would make good ice cream van spot, enough space for small car park, could make local boat ramp as plenty in village have boats. Was a big part of village's history, everything came into village and aluminium left village via here, shame to see it go to waste. Pier itself to be preserved, wouldn't be safe to use and is potentially home to wildlife now, but area close is massively underused and wasted”
“Leven Centre could do with being cleaner. Why is there no showers?”
“Better drainage in the village, e.g. by the Cenotaph and outside the Leven centre”
2 GETTING ABOUT
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“Buses to fit in with Glasgow buses”
“only one bus every two hours”
“I can’t afford to go to town as often so that is reason feeling isolated and stuck”
“a late bus would be beneficial so that we could use the cinema, bowling or meals in Fort William”
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“at most times of the day the Shiel bus just misses the Citylink bus in Glencoe. So one needs to wait in Glencoe for 2 hours, or try get a lift from here to Glencoe.”
“More evening bus running past 4 pm and more buses on a Sunday”
“Timetable that will allow shift workers transport to and from the village”
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“Road surfaces (Morrison Crescent, Kearan Road for example) desperately need attention”
“[Make] walkways more possible for wheelchair users (around the pier walk, is not a good access area)”
“Cycle track around the village”
“Reduce the speed limit on the B863 especially the low road… It still looks like the A road it was 50 years ago. A lower speed limit (40?) and perhaps removing the central line to slow traffic would make it a better area for walking and cycling.”
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“Less promotion of cars and more walking. How many people drive their children to school?”
“Car sharing, and E car scheme would be great”
3 HOMES
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“If there was a way to restrict 2nd home/holiday let buyers over local/only home owners when it came to local house sales, that would massively help the community vs. having houses empty for large periods of time:
“Make the village an attractive place for younger people - childcare, activities, transport”
“Make living in Kinlochleven more attractive […] clubs for school kids, more fun days”
“Put on support groups, activities and life skill classes for teens. Have more groups for elderly like a lunch club and social meets”
“Events together – example Burns night”
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“First-time buyers “
“More rental properties for seasonal workers (hospitality in summer, winter sports in winter)”
“People who get offered jobs but no accommodation (especially families, people just starting out, professional staff, i.e. teachers/medics)”
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“Starter homes for singles and young families”
“1 bed homes for pensioners, single folk and kids leaving home for the first time”
“We need more private rented”
“I would say a variety - to meet all needs. It would be good to see neglected/empty properties used, after improvement. Historically locating or housing folk here, with no transport, with high medical needs or who need to find employment without having transport does set people up to fail”
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“the older housing stock is in dire need for repair, big flats on Foyers Road a must but equally Garbhein requires help too. Probably most of the original housing of Kinloch needs help”
“Foyers Road / Glendale Road – serious dampness”
“Foyers Road heating system not fit for use!”
“Some houses need to burn fossil fuel to keep hot water. Central and more eco-economic heating would improve village environment”
“Our social housing is woeful. Decades of neglect have rendered much of it sub standard with many issues of poor heating, black mold, poor insulation, broken fencing, encroaching knotweed to name a few problems and with our weather just makes the whole situation very difficult for tenants”
“The other delicate matter we have is the placing of people into the village with complex mental health concerns or social problems; we don't have the support network they need, couple that with the difficult transport links and other NHS issues, people are quite literally forgotten about”
4 JOBS
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“no childcare for 25 miles for under 3s”
“No affordable childcare”
“Lots of business properties lying empty – should be leased or sold and can be used”
“Public transport links don’t work for most jobs”
“I would love to be able to rent a small unit to store 1 car and be able to work on it comfortably, sharing my skills as a qualified technician, helping those in need of those that wish to learn, and offering emergency help given that the two most local garages are 10 miles away - nothing commercial, just a small area”
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“Empty business properties need a time limit before they MUST be offered for rent. 20 years empty is too long!’
“Unit/shed opportunities - plenty of vacant areas, possible to chase up these to allow those that would actually use the storage to do so”
“Work experience even small slots to help young people prepare for work in the future”
“Childcare, lack of transport, loans, job opportunities”
“More litter picks to keep village beautiful and cared for. More appealing for visitors, and happier place for residents!”
“Scenic route signs from Glencoe/North Ballachulish”
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“Hospitality jobs with better salary and not just seasonal or zero hours”
“Tourism - developing our heritage eg the history and education of the Aluminium story”
“Facilities for tourists – motorhome parking - why is this not being utilised?”
“Tourist information centre to promote the local area and help visitors”
“We should encourage the visitors to use area, and make the woodland walks a feature”
“Make more of WHW visitors - more food options, small store with walking/outdoor supplies, possibly somewhere to integrate existing ebike hire to or have new ebike hire”
“Events to bring visitors to the village: Christmas Advent using windows of village houses, Festive Frights (Scottish ghost story readings), October beer festival, Halloween gathering various activities (spooky trak, pumpkin carving competition, spooky hay ride), spring/summer fairy trail, dark skies, events, plant sale at church with tea cake and local art, local theatre group performances, book fair/film festival, children’s festival, sports day, whole village boot sale, charity duck race)”
“The Lodge – daytime spa, hotel rooms (high end), gallery of past famous guests), historical connections, haunted/mystery events, family pamper days)”
“It already has tourism. It needs other sources and opportunities. Creating some more homes and buildings for small businesses would create a better future combined with a college”
“Is the village for tourists or locals? Develop services accordingly. Both could use a tearoom”
5 LANDSCAPE AND CLIMATE CHANGE
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“Insulate houses and heat pumps”
“Community grants towards solar panels – both greener and more financially friendly”
“Local community gardens and shop to sell produce, local venison”
“People do grow food, individually, however a community allotment would be fab”
“Travel less and use different forms of transport. Car sharing, community transport and shopping delivery services”
“Community ownership of the hydro power station so that we can have free! electricity”
“I would like to see better recycling for our area and less waste”
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“Increase biodiversity and quality of green space”
“Deer culls to allow more trees and biodiversity”
“Manage surface run-off, afforestation and drainage. Fund plan for future, flooding, fire, storm damage”
“Stop using coal – council houses turn to green electricity – widely (hydroelectricity for town)”
“Reinstate compositing site please. Reduces flytipping of garden waste and helps people who can’t get to Fort William”
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“More use of Loch Leven for recreational water activities”
“Work with RSPB to develop a bird sanctuary and hide at head of loch (where the River Leven meets the loch)”
“Access to Seagulls Island – wild swimming is part of the community. However, getting down to the shoreline can be difficult for those of us with limited ability”
“Improve footpath access (including wheelchairs) to the loch side. Loch pathways”
“Maintenance person reinstated to maintain public areas, collect litter, weedkill, etc”
“Consulting on a new national park would offer the potential for additional resources and better convening powers locally”
“Wildife tourism. Feed birds and have watching area, wildlife hides, webcam live feed showing wildlife”
“Renewable schemes of suitable scale and type that directly benefit the local people through reduced energy costs”
6 ANYTHING ELSE?
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“Jahama need to engage – they are destructive, not constructive, involving lawyers straightaway (e.g. redevelopment of the Ice Factor) – it stops things happening! “
“Sadly, much of what didn't happen is down to land ownership and the tight reigns that are held by them. We are now dealing with Jahama, who at best, are like absent landlords; at the beginning they were enthusiastic about supporting the community with initiatives and wanted to help, but sadly that has disappeared much with their support to invest. Also, the HC, which keep trotting out "prospecting housing land" for any suggestion of using the spaces for local plans, so no help there neither and the KCT has pockets of smaller tracts of land that are not for redevelopment.”
“Jahama to give over land to village”
“Get Jahama to hand over all land that should have been handed over. Who would manage the land? KCT? Jahama is absentee landlord that exploits and puts nothing back. Hold Jahama to account.”
[SUMMARY] Land usage and ownership is a huge issue, getting accurate maps of land ownership has been very difficult over recent years. The Highland Council were quite helpful as were JAHAMA however KCT were not. Again, hopefully that is a thing of the past now.
“KCT need to be a lot more visible, accountable and proactive”
[SUMMARY] Some KCT and KCC members have in the past prioritised their personal agendas above the community, causing serious problems. Hopefully this is a thing of the past now.
“We need to re-establish a coherent and respectful community that communicates well and shares information. Many of us did not know we had a new KCC and I appreciate that they are working on restoring the social media presence that has been blocked and historically little used to inform the public. I have confidence that this matter will be reversed and communication channels will be established with and for the community and the KCC. The KCT needs to resuscitate communication channels too, following the poor communication of the previous incumbents - again, I am confident this matter will be addressed and improvements are already being made via Face book posts and other notifications. It would be good if it wasn't always the same people speaking up on matters and again I feel that this is being improved too, the community plan should help with that as long as all views are respected. […redacted…]”
“It’s a bit boring for the kids”
“More activities for teens – gym, bike track, boxing”
“Clarification on where contamination still exists as recently information has been shared, as fact, that some of the land currently used could be contaminated?”
“The whole site of the old factory apart from the Ice Factor and business park lies unused claiming to be too polluted for use. We require definitive proof that the brownfield land is as polluted as we're led to believe. Over the years we have heard varying reports about this site but were never shown the evidence, maybe an independent report is needed?”
“During covid, we came together to help the vulnerable, the isolated and each other; we involved ourselves with cleaning up the litter, the kerbsides were cleared of weeds, the bridge and viaduct were cleaned up and most people took care of their roads the same way; now you would hardly know. As soon as it was over, normality resumed. We didn't sustain the innovation of community spirit.”
“The buses timing is bad. If need to travel to hospital that is a struggle or even get back home. The cost is to high for travelling. No job opportunities. No childcare tot for parents. Is to isolated. No entertainment for kids. Lot of people feeling isolated, alone. Need more jobs. Child care.”
“Lack of volunteers for community groups”
“Taking back control from Highland Council. Why do we pay council tax when we could into a pot that directly funds the village?”
“I think we all pick up litter as we go around the village - more education and penalties about this would help.”
“We need car parking for locals. The streets are too congested and it's a safety issues for children, those with wheelchairs and disabilities”
“Visible signage that is accurate and educational rather than scaremongering (like the Deer signs) might help.”
“Where will the money come from to make the plan happen?”
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“Has Kinlochleven ever been twinned with another town or village? It would be a way of sharing with and learning from others, and broadening the reach of the villages businesses and community. Could also help build the range of arts and crafts events in the village.”
“Housing. Job and business opportunity”
“Teen hub.”
“Go to school and encourage teens and kids to create woodland walks that they can enjoy and be part of.”
“Now that Skyline running event has stopped I think Kinlochleven would be an excellent venue for a weekend Blues Music Festival”
“Young people need an incentive to stick around Kinlochleven… I could teach guitar/electric/acoustic basic skills”
“Create and invest to increase people and opportunity - but a college campus is a need.”
“We were the first village to be fully electric, it would be great if we could improve the story of our village, not only for the hydro element but the electric story too. Maybe we could light up the underside of the bridge and Tailrace and have the as focal points, many photo's are taken of the Tailrace in daylight, at night its equally impressive and better so with light. Create a night walk with lighted paths?”
“More community consultation on topics identified as important for the community - a start was made at the recent KCC meeting, which bodes well. […redacted...] In recent years a range of voices have been blocked, literally, from having input […redacted...] This should be easily overcome now we have a fresh KCT/KCC for the village.”
“We live in a most beautiful, healthy and natural environment. We must nurture this, and, as a community, make a commitment to protect it from all threats be they inappropriate development, lazy building on new sites when old sites exist. We also need to avoid the imbalance of ownership of properties for personal gain - I think this is the biggest threat to available accommodation for people of modest, or even reasonable incomes. We need to know, well in advance, of any community developmental plans being talked about behind closed doors as they appear on the planning website and leave us on the backfoot. […redacted...]“
“Community buyout to buy out the estate (when it inevitably goes bust)”
“Review overnight prices for Ice Factor car park - £10 with no facilities and limited time toilets is far too much, especially as when people who can be self contained will simply use a free layby”
“I’m tired of hearing how poorly Kinlochleven is viewed by the rest of Lochaber. Why can’t we make it as a self sufficient community like Eigg or Knoydart? “
“Town clock. Squished penny machine. Fountain. Outdoor carousel.”
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“Thanks – this was a good way to let us know what’s happening and how to help – especially those of us who are new to the village.”
“People who are actually affected by this plan having an input – no political agendas”
“What’s On board – add Bookbug in the Library 11:00-11:30am every Wednesday”
“Get rid of KCT as it's costing the community and the relationship with locals is broken down and irreparable.”
“No building on car parking facilities”
“No UN/WEF policies. No communitarianism and people’s assemblies.”
“There is no magic wand but I really do hope with this place plan we can secure something meaningful and exciting for the village and to do this we really do require the landowners to either relinquish their stranglehold on the village or loosen their ties so that we can be more self sufficient and pro-active in forging ahead with our plans.”
“We have had people over the years who have seemed genuinely keen to take projects forward (be they residents or agencies) people step up to find out more and join in only to be left with little or no support, when those proposing the ideas step away to do other things. Ideas need to be followed through and those who want to assist need to be supported and encouraged to do so. I am thinking of one Lochaber agency especially who were detrimental and unhelpful with those trying to take ideas forward.”
“Recent residents to the village have come here for a quiet/quieter life and that is to be respected but equally, we are not a retirement village and if we are to re-engineer some sort of plan that would encourage investment, work, businesses etc, then this should be the priority.”
To see transcriptions of all 500+ comments, click here or on the image below. They’re fascinating.
