A plan to extend the car park near the famous and scenic Camusdarach beach has been dropped after local complaints.
The Lochaber beach is a popular destination among locals and visitors.
It was also featured as Ben’s Beach in the 1980s hit film Local Hero.
Due to the increase in visitors over the years there was a rise in verge parking in the area.
Highland Council said this was a safety concern, and traffic restrictions have since been introduced on the B8008 road
The car park extension was also discussed as a potential way to crack down on verge parking.
However, the proposal was not well received among some Camusdarach residents.
What was the proposal?
A planned extension to the car park would have increased the number of bays from 15 to 20 currently, to approximately 40 to 47.
However, the proposal was met with over 20 objections.
One Camusdarach resident said the aim of the community was to stop verge parking, as opposed to encouraging day-trippers.
“The temporary restrictions put along the road worked brilliantly and are being made permanent.”
The B8008 Morar to Arisaig road has been painted with double yellow lines. Image: Highland Council.Caroline Jackson and Valerie Stuart-Orchard, both Camusdarach residents, say that withdrawing the application was ‘absolutely the right decision’.
Both objected to the application for reasons including protecting the sand dunes, wildlife, flora and local businesses.
They jointly stated: “This will help ensure that its fragile flora and fauna are protected for the future.”
Highland Council engaged ‘in good faith’
A spokeswoman for Highland Council explained why the application was withdrawn.
“Following lengthy discussions with the local community, there was an overwhelming view to reject the car park extension.
“The Highland Council engaged with the community in good faith to understand their views and in light of their response has withdrawn the planning application.”
“The site is not owned by The Highland Council and we are continuing discussions with the landowner to secure a long-term lease for the site as is.”
“As part of the new lease, we are proposing mandatory parking charges at the site and tighter controls on its terms of use – e.g. length of stay.”
