What is the Trust, where did we come from and who are we?

Well, the Community Futures Programme was instigated in 2001 by the new Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park with the objective of providing communities with a way of thinking about and planning for their future. The key objective was to create and foster a support environment at local level within each of the 24 communities in and around the National Park.

Each community undertook a Community Futures Process and established its own Community Development Company (CDC) - a company limited by guarantee with charitable status. Membership is open to residents and/or local organisations and is run by a Board of Directors. The CDC is usually a multi-purpose organisation providing an umbrella for a number of different projects and initiatives.

The Arrochar and Tarbet Community Development Trust (ATCDT) has a full complement of 14 local Directors who bring a great variety of skills and knowledge to the group.

Along with the other communities in the National Park the villagers from Arrochar, Tarbet and Succoth, as well as residents from associated outlying areas such as Ardlui and Ardgarten, undertook a voluntary exercise in 2003 to produce our first Community Action Plan which the Trust has been following. One of the key actions identified was the provision of a new Village Hall where the community could meet and socialise. This has now been achieved after several years of hard work by many in the community and by our partners, and is due to open in February 2010.