A former Highland hunting lodge that once welcomed King Edward VII could help spark the regeneration of Scotland's 'electric village'.
The community of Kinlochleven has rallied together to lodge a plan with Highland Council which it hopes will attract investment, jobs and opportunities to the area.
The village was once home to Europe's largest aluminium factory and was the first in the world to have every house connected to electricity.
It is a busy tourist destination because it lies on the West Highland Way route but has a sharply declining population (17% from 2003 to 2020) partly fuelled by the closure of the British Alcan factory in 2000.
The restoration of Mamore Lodge, which featured in films including Roy Roy and Braveheart, is noted in the wide-ranging action plan to create a "bright future" for the area.
The lodge, which is perched on a mountain ledge overlooking Loch Leven, was originally built in 1903 for Captain Frank Bibby, who made his fortune in the Liverpool shipping industry.
It later became the residence of the manager of the aluminium works and was then re-developed as a hotel, which has been closed for a number of years and the building is now a "boarded-up eyesore overlooking the village".
"What better place to restore former glories as a hotel, spa or retreat?" notes the plan.
"This would attract more people to stay in the area, greatly enhance the visitor offer, and create new training and employment opportunities for the local community."
Kinlochleven Community Action Group was given funding by Highland Council to prepare a community-led plan with legal status. More than 500 ideas were put forward by residents.
Children from the local primary said they wanted more restaurants and amenities such as soft play, a trampoline park and an animal sanctuary.
Older residents called for improvements in public transport and other public services, the re-use of empty shops and buildings, more local jobs.
The plan also calls for the re-opening of the Ice Factor, was boasted the world's biggest indoor ice climbing wall.
Its closure in 2023 marked the "sudden demise of the village’s only year-round visitor attraction".
Housing is described as "prohibitively expensive" for young people starting out in their careers with many available properties let out during the Summer and empty in winter.
Kinlochleven is not well served by public transport and year-round tourist jobs are "scarce".
The plan suggests outdoor adventure, land management, green energy could also also be key to its regeneration.
It notes that Kinlochleven "barely existed" before the British Aluminium Company arrived to build the aluminium smelter and Blackwater dam in 1904.
The carefully planned ‘electric village’, one of the earliest to have electric street and house lighting in the UK, grew rapidly with housing, shops, leisure facilities and churches but conditions were often poor on the village’s older, south side.
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However, company employment was already dropping by the 1950s (nearly halving between 1939 and 1973) and the village population shrank by around 18% between 1961 and 1966 alone.
Jahama Highland Estates now own the huge upland estates which were originally purchased by the British Aluminium Company 120 years ago. They also own the site of the main aluminium works building, which remains undeveloped.
Since the new campus in 2008, the plan notes there has been "little major investment".
The now-empty Aluminium Story visitor and heritage centre "offers an excellent opportunity for use as a hub for community arts, crafts, heritage and visitor information".
A similar local place plan is being taken forward by residents in the Black Isle.
Planners note that achieving its objectives "will require collaboration and support from the Scottish Government, the Highland Council, Community Planning Partners and Jahama Highland Estates, which owns much of the land."
Kate Forbes MSP said: “I’m looking forward to visiting Kinlochleven again over the coming weeks and hopefully meeting with the community council who have been instrumental in putting this significant piece of work together.”
"We look forward to working with the wider community in developing and implementing the Plan over the coming years.”
A spokesman for Jahama Estates, which owns the Mamore Lodge site, said: "We are choosing not to make any public comment currently."
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