James Fraser, the former head of the area’s tourist board and current chair of Friends of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs, claims the local authority’s proposal for a 23-home development at Carrochan Road would worsen parking problems the village.

He said visitors were being 'squeezed out’ of Balloch by the parking issues.

West Dunbartonshire Council has applied for planning permission in principle for 23 homes on the site – six four-bed houses with attached garages, four three-bed homes, three one-bed flats, and nine two-bed flats – with the intention of marketing it to housing developers.

Following a public meeting on Tuesday where the majority of the around 60 attendees were against the housing development the Friends and Balloch and Haldane Community Council have called on Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park planners to refuse planning permission and keep the site as a car park.

The council declared the car park surplus to requirements in 2004 and the roads department claims there is 'no perceived lack of parking within this area of Balloch and no requirement to provide an established car park for one-off events’, which Mr Fraser said was 'nonsense’.

He said: “There is a real issue of parking in Balloch and what is happening at Carrochan is making it a lot worse. As a result Balloch is under performing as a tourist destination.” He added: “In effect visitors are being squeezed out of the village.” He called on the council to remove boulders blocking of the Carrochan car park and to rethink the housing proposal and review parking in the whole village.

BHCC organised the public meeting on Tuesday focusing on tourism and future development in Balloch.

In the written objection, Jim Biddulph community council secretary, said: “The outcome of discussing the planning application was 95 per cent of those attending (some 60 people) being against the application for housing on this site and that the site be used for local and tourist parking, including bus area and recreation.

“BHCC support the public view that the area designated in the application be left as it is.

“BHCC is of the opinion that a full consultation and study of parking in Balloch takes place before any decision on this area of land is made and the effect the proposed development would have on tourism to Balloch village.” The tourism aspect of presentation at the public meeting highlighted the lack of public car parking east of the river Leven which would have a 'detrimental effect’ on visitors staying in an area where they could not park.

It was pointed out that most mornings there are no parking spaces available at the Moss, the only public car park in Balloch.

The community council wants the site to be reserved for tourist use, despite it being currently zoned for housing and point out that the Queen of the Loch site was also zoned for housing but the policy was changed to allow for tourism development.

Council officers state in the application: “We believe this development has the potential to be a positive asset to the location of Balloch, linking in with the surrounding residential area, and providing a gateway from the more commercial premises from Carrochan Road.” A spokeswoman for West Dunbartonshire Council said: “This site was never granted planning permission or zoned for parking. We are aware that it has been used unofficially for this purpose and have received a number of complaints from neighbours of the site regarding this.

Planning permission for residential use of this site was granted in 2008 and if granted again it is our intention to market this land.

We work closely with the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park to encourage visitors to Balloch and the surrounding area and will continue to do so.”