AS a long-standing supporter of the basic principles of national parks, I continue to be dismayed by the pressures applied by the executive of the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park to permit and even encourage developments which favour commercialisation over conservation ("Park chief under fire after talk of visitor charges", The Herald, June 24).

Such policies are clearly in opposition to the park's principal four aims which state that the authority's duty is to preserve natural heritage and to conserve the area for future generations. A programme favouring private developments which can take control of important scenic areas should not be considered or encouraged.

The leading park executives will deny that this is happening but there are already many examples of their misguided planning policies which have resulted in some landowners or companies developing sites in scenic areas which then restrict access or change the area's appeal to visitors. There are already golf courses (with another already approved) which will result in a continuous carpet of courses from Balloch to Luss and these severely limit public access to the loch shores.

The ill-advised hotels and conference centre foisted on Rowardennan and Balmaha both failed after the park planning authority, wrongly in the opinion of many, approved plans by an outside company which failed and left unfortunate scars on their localities for some time before local individuals started to make welcome efforts to provide something more suitable to a national park.

The decision to allow Luss Estates to not only establish houseboats in a sensitive area but to ignore that company's chief executive's statement that he "saw no problem if this were to create a precedent in other scenic areas within the national park" was extraordinary. Luss Estates now proposes to build a large luxury lodge on Inchconnachan with a resident warden to ensure that privileged visitors are not disturbed by the boating public who have had access to that island for many generations. It is absurd to claim that this would result in better protection for endangered species like the capercaillie which left the area years ago.

The monstrosities of Loch Lomond Shores with the white elephant of an under-used viewing tower and department store are perfect examples of serious planning errors. The fact that acres of Tarmac are now to be developed for housing proves the point.

Is it possible the misguided proposals from the park authority result from pressure to develop an environment which could increase the visitor numbers by 50% by 2015 and thereby create what would be wrongly interpreted as a successful visitor attraction?

Jim Macdonald,

27 Muirpark Way, Drymen.