MILLIONS of pounds will be spent on creating special camp sites on the banks of Scotland's most famous loch if a plan gets the go-ahead.
Bosses at Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park have launched a consultation on measures to cope with the increasing number of visitors to the area and its beauty spots.
The Park Authority wants to clamp down on problems ranging from litter and fire damage to abandonment of entire campsites and summer-long caravan encampments in lay-bys.
Under the proposals, the west side of the loch and part of the wider Trossachs would be designated a £10 million 'management zone', which would be run along lines established by the creation of a similar area on the east side of the loch three years ago.
The plans would also see new bylaws introduced that would make it an offence to cause damage to the natural environment or wildlife in the park, regulate where visitors can camp and provide greater control over the use of laybys.
Controls on camping at East Loch Lomond were put in place in 2011, resulting in an 81 per cent reduction in anti-social behaviour.
Police would be responsible for enforcing the new rules, which would limit wild camping and establish proper campsites for visitors.
Fiona Logan, chief executive of Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority, said: "The National Park is within an hour's drive of more than 50 per cent of Scotland's population and this gives us specific problems, which, despite our best efforts, have been escalating.
"The package of measures we are proposing has been developed in conjunction with partners and local communities and reflects our wholesale commitment to dramatically improving the experience of the park for residents and visitors, whether they camp overnight, or come for the day to walk, swim, kayak, or simply enjoy a picnic.
"Our proposals include significant investment in camping facilities and new bylaws to support more sustainable amounts of camping and to tackle the damage caused by anti-social camping."
She added: "We are excited at the potential for these proposals to bring communities, businesses and partners together to transform these problem areas into the world class destinations we know they can be."
The rules have been drawn up after discussions with communities and businesses in the worst affected areas, and would see the money invested during the course of the next five years.
The public have been invited to have their say on the plans during the consultation period, which will run from October 13 until January 12.
Davie Flynn, Police Scotland divisional commander, said: "We have enjoyed a longstanding positive relationship with Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park and continually strive to ensure the visitor experience is as good as it can be and that local communities are free from anti-social behaviour.
"We welcome the opportunity to contribute to the consultation process around the Park Authority's proposals."
Gordon Donaldson, who man-ages Forestry Commission Scotland's Cowal & Trossachs District, said: "We welcome and support this consultation looking at ways to tackle the issue of irresponsible camping. We also look forward to helping any solutions put forward in as practicable a way as possible.
"Together with the Park Authority we have already enjoyed great success in tackling similar issues at Sallochy campsite, so we already know what a strong partnership approach can achieve."
Kevin Lilburn, chairman of the East Loch Lomond Visitor Management Group, said: "Previously we suffered some sort of incident at my home pretty much every weekend in the summer, including litter, theft, vandalism and verbal or even physical intimidation.
"Since the bylaws have been introduced, there have been none. Not one. That speaks for itself and official statistics tell a similar story.
"We have gone from a situation where my neighbours and I dreaded sunny days to one in which we can relax, enjoy where we live, and happily share the area with responsibly behaved visitors."
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