A new plan has been unveiled setting out future development opportunities for Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park.

The 'LIVE Park' proposals have now been formally by the National Park Authority as its Local Development Plan for the next 10 years.

Ideas to improve housing, business and tourism include:

• Delivering 75 new homes across the area each year to sustain communities and meet demand for smaller, more modest sized and 'affordable' homes.

• Creating sites for tourism and leisure development to grow and enhance the quality of the Park as a visitor destination.

• Supporting new businesses in and around towns and villages that create local jobs and diversification of the rural economy.

• Developing a new bridge, housing, hotel and riverside park in Callander.

• Creating a central village hub in Arrochar alongside housing and tourism development at Arrochar, Succoth and Tarbet.

• Bringing listed buildings such as Balloch Castle and Woodbank House back into use.

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• Improvements to Balloch village centre and new development that will link with Loch Lomond Shores.

While Arrochar, Balloch and Callander are expected to see the biggest change over the next 20 years, the Plan also identifies development opportunities in the Park's smaller villages that will support their long term sustainability.

Gordon Watson, Chief Executive of Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park said: "The National Park is an amazing place and a special landscape with so much to offer and LIVE Park sets out the opportunities for it to continue to thrive and develop sensitively as a place for people to live, invest, visit and experience over the next ten years.

"We've worked really closely with people and organisations from across the Park to find out how they want to see that happen. I'm delighted that we can now adopt the Plan and look forward to seeing how the Park develops over the next decade."

Stuart Mearns, Head of Rural Development & Planning at the National Park, added: "We are delighted that the Plan is now adopted. It provides a firm foundation to help attract and guide inward investment, helping to grow the rural economy and enhance the Park's towns and villages.

"We are already seeing an increase in development activity and developer interest in key locations including Balloch and Callander as well as some of our smaller communities, such as Luss where new affordable housing is currently being built.

"Strong partnership working established between landowners, developers, public agencies and communities during the process to prepare the Plan has been central to achieving this and our focus next year will be to use the Plan as the basis for securing continued investment in the National Park."

For more information on the Plan, visit www.ourlivepark.com

(LM)