Duck Bay owner Alan Cawley has said he now expects parking charges to be introduced at the lochside beauty spot, as he hit out at the National Park Authority for not objecting to the plans.
Last week Mr Cawley, who co-owns the popular Duck Bay Marina with sister Margo, said he would tear up the car park built by his late father Bobby if Argyll and Bute Council approved parking charges - which could cost staff almost £500 a year to drive to work.
A public consultation period closed last week, with Argyll and Bute Council receiving some objections - but Mr Cawley was furious that none were from the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority.
Extending an invitation to National Park chief Gordon Watson to meet him for discussions on the issue, he said: “I suspect that we’ve lost this battle. We’ll have to wait and see. But we’re still fighting.
“I know they have received a lot of objections. I’m just hoping they pay some heed to those.
“The council were able to inform me that they’ve had no comment from Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority.
“That is something I am incredulous about. I can’t believe that the National Park think that this proposal is acceptable and think that it’s not their job, as a publicly funded body, to comment on something as important as this.
“Their chief executive, Gordon Watson, lives in Gartocharn. It’s not like they don’t understand the position we are in.
“They fully understand the situation, they always have done, and yet they didn’t deem it necessary to make any comment on this.
“That is shocking to me.
“I would like to know why Gordon Watson had no comment to make. I’d like to extend an invitation to him to come to Duck Bay to meet me and we can discuss it.”
Gordon Watson Chief Executive of Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority responded: “Through my previous meetings with Mr Cawley I am aware of his concerns about the Council’s parking charge proposals.
“I am happy to meet with him again. However, the National Park Authority does not own or manage the site and it is ultimately for the council to decide how to respond to these concerns.”
Whilst Mr Cawley is pessimistic on the outcome, he thanked those who took the time to file an objection.
He added: “We’ve had a huge amount of support from the public which we’re extremely grateful for.
“The public and our staff see this as an issue and an affront to what is decent.
“We really are grateful to everyone who supported us in fighting against these charges.”
Mr Cawley added that he could understand the introduction of charges if new facilities were being provided - however this will not be the case.
He also called on the local authority to begin maintenance work on the car park, which needs redrained and resurfaced - with no such work having been undertaken since the council took back on control of the land.
A spokesperson for Argyll and Bute Council commented: “The consultation on the TRO for Duck Bay closed last week and we are currently compiling the responses.”
