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Derelict torpedo station could become Loch Lomond holiday village

News imageLoch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority A disused military station, that has been out of use for decades. Overgrown greenery covers parts of it, while graffiti is all over the walls and many pillars and infrastructure of the building are rusting. Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority
The torpedo station has been unused since the 1980s

A derelict torpedo testing station could become a hotel and holiday homes under new redevelopment plans.

The former Ministry of Defence site in Arrochar in Argyll & Bute has been out of use since 1986, and the grounds have regularly been used for fly-tipping and littering.

Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority have now approved a proposal by Ardnagal Estates to turn the land into a 34-bedroom hotel, holiday homes and lodges, glamping pods and an outdoor play area.

The park authority said the changes would come with guarantees from the developer to protect the natural environment around the site.

The 11-hectare ground was first opened in 1912, with the aim of supporting the manufacturing and testing of torpedoes produced in Greenock and Alexandria. During World War Two more than 12,000 torpedoes were fired down the loch.

However the derelict station has long been a source of frustration for locals since it closed, due to the amount of anti-social behaviour and vandalism around it.

Claire Chapman, the park authority's planning and access committee chairwoman, said the new proposal could provide a solution to a "blight" on the local area.

She said: "The approval of this long-standing derelict site's redevelopment is a significant step forward in addressing what has been a blight on both the local community and the environment.

"The site has been identified in both the existing local development plan, which guides new development in the National Park, and in the community's local place plan."

She added that the developer had commitments that would "protect and enhance the site's natural environment, ensuring the area's landscape and environmental sensitivities are safeguarded for the long term."

She said: "That is a very welcome outcome for people, and for nature."

News imageLoch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority A view from outside the building of the former torpedo station. It is rusting and covered in graffiti. The building sits on a loch, with hills in the distance.Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority
A previous attempt to turn the former base into a hotel fell through
News imageLoch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority A view of the former torpedo station, sitting on the marina, with the loch visible. Rust and decay can be seen on the building even from a distance. Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority
Developer Ardnagal Estates has guaranteed to protect the natural environment around the site

The full development will comprise 14 holiday homes, 34 holiday lodges, the 34-bedroom hotel, 20 glamping pods, six motorhome pitches, an outdoor play area, and associated parking and native landscaping.

Developers say biodiversity will be improved in various ways, including through the removal of invasive non-native plant species, such as Japanese knotweed.

The development will open up public and community access to the loch through a revitalised pier, and introduce new leisure services, including a play park.

Previous plans to build a 130-bedroom hotel on the grounds faded away nearly a decade ago.

The park authority added that the location would ease congestion around the loch's most popular spots by encouraging visitors to explore further afield.

Responsibility to move the proposed development further forward will now fall to Ardnagal Estates, who acquired the site in 2021.