Loch Clunie: Lochside residents demand camping ban to prevent beauty spot being trashed

People living around a Perthshire loch want new powers to stop it being trashed by irresponsible visitors.

After another summer cleaning up piles of rubbish, abandoned tents and fire pits, locals at Loch Clunie near Blairgowrie are calling for the introduction of byelaws.

But the authorities say they want to find “practical solutions” short of a camping ban.

The loch, which is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), has long been a popular beauty spot, attracting people to swim, canoe, picnic and camp.

Local residents say that the number of visitors increased significantly following the Covid lockdowns, and parts of the lochside are now being overrun.

“Some people come for the weekend, and longer, and leave everything behind, the toys, the whole tent, their barbecues, all dumped,” said Janice Willsher of Loch of Clunie Preservation Group.

“We’ve also got littering in general, fly-tipping, broken glass, cans, nappies, remains of food and people toileting outside. We have portable toilets, but they can only cope with so much.”

The group say trees have been cut down for firewood, and cars and vans are left blocking the narrow road surrounding the loch.

They’re calling for the introduction of byelaws to ban overnight camping and the lighting of fires – measures which are within the power of Perth and Kinross Council or NatureScot to implement.

“I would like the Government to take this more seriously, everywhere, and I would like NatureScot to start doing hands-on work because it’s very difficult to communicate with them,” said Janice Willsher.

“They need to get outside, out of the office, and see what is actually going on. There is a problem that we need to deal with, nationwide.”

‘My elderly mother and I were both assaulted’

Emily Crichton and her mother, Theresa, live close to the loch and have been the target of anti-social behaviour.

“My elderly mother and I were both assaulted,” said Emily.

“I don’t feel safe at home, and I know that before we got here, someone was stabbed for asking campers to move.

“That is completely unacceptable, and if we lived in an urban area, it would not be tolerated.”

After several flashpoints, local residents have been advised not to approach rowdy campers.

Landowners’ body Scottish Land and Estates says the problems at Clunie Loch are being replicated in other parts of the country.

“Local authorities, the police, NatureScot, they’re all trying to do, as they say, the best they can, but really the level of emphasis that they’re putting on this isn’t sufficient,” said Simon Ovenden, SLE’s policy advisor on access and visitor management.

“More needs to be done, and it seems to be a case of well, it’s the responsibility of the other body, then the other body, and it gets passed around like a ball and tackling these problems is just not happening in the way that it should.”

SLE's policy advisor Simon Ovenden — SLE’s policy advisor Simon Ovenden STV News

Councillor Grant Laing, leader of Perth and Kinross Council, said: “We don’t want to bring in byelaws or enforce things that will ruin it for people who want to use it responsibly, what we want to do is everybody to have access.

“All the political party leaders on Perth and Kinross Council have written to NatureScot and we’re looking for some advice on what we can do in that area to help.”

NatureScot has ruled out a review of Scotland’s 20-year-old Outdoor Access Code and describes byelaws as a “last resort.”

A council spokeswoman said: “Loch of Clunie is an internationally important site for nature, and we share concerns about visitor pressures and antisocial behaviour in the area.

“We will continue to work with the Loch of Clunie Preservation Group, Perth and Kinross Council, Police Scotland and the local community to try to find practical solutions.

“Scotland’s access rights are a tremendous asset, and most people behave responsibly in the outdoors.

“Where irresponsible behaviour does occur, it is generally because of failure to comply with the guidance in the existing Scottish Outdoor Access Code or – in the case of vandalism, littering, anti-social behaviour or dangerous parking – the law.”