Heavy timber lorries are to be removed from a popular car park as part of a long term plan to improve Glen Nevis for visitors.
The Braveheart Car Park sits at the head of the picturesque glen near Fort William.
It is heavily used by tourists and visitors looking to explore the area – but, at the moment, the car park is bisected by a forest track used by timber lorries.
Land owner Forest Enterprise Scotland has now lodged plans to upgrade the car park, including rerouting the lorries away from the area used by the public.
They argue the current arrangement raises concerns about safety and the experience of visitors to the region.
The commission said it could be the start of a longer-term project aimed at improving their landholding in Glen Nevis as a whole.
Work has already started on creating a central area for walks through the forests and installing play areas.
New walks around the beauty spot glen could also be created.
A spokesman for FES said: “Part of the planning application is to re-align the forest road, which currently splits the Braveheart site in half and gives us concern over the mix of visitors and timber traffic, both in terms of safety and visitor experience.”
He added: “This planning application is the very first stages of what could be a 4-5 year project looking at Glen Nevis as a whole.
“We are starting with upgrading and expanding the car park, creating a central hub for all the forest walks, installing natural play, expanding the low level walk network as identified in our recent visitor experience plan, making better connections to Dun Deadail (and our archaeology project) and working with Nevis Landscape Partnership to deliver environmental benefit through the entire glen.”
The project is one of a number ongoing in the district at present.
Earlier this month, a new bridge crossing the River Nevis was lowered into place close to the Glen Nevis Visitor Centre.
The bridge, which will open to the public in the next few weeks, will give access to the mountain track route up Ben Nevis and other lower level walks around the glen.
