A derelict torpedo firing range in Argyll is to be turned into a £70m marina and hotel resort.
Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority has given the go-ahead for The Ben Arthur Resort in Arrochar which will include a five-star hotel, houses and berths for 250 boats. The construction budget is believed to be around £35-40m and will support more than 200 site jobs.
It is planned that all buildings and infrastructure will be constructed as one project and completion could be achieved by Christmas 2015. The application was determined less than four months after submission of the environmental statement.
Archial is architect and lead designer on a team that includes interior designer Conran & Partners; landscape architect and environmental consultant LUC; structural and civil engineer Struer’ cost consultant Binnie & McKenzie; and M&E engineer Atelier 10.
Hotel and leisure facilities will be operated by Wyndham Group, the world’s biggest hotel operator, with Sir Terence Conran responsible for the restaurants.
An application to create the 250-berth marina on Loch Long will be submitted to Marine Scotland later this year.
The site is an area of land previously occupied by the former MoD torpedo testing station on the north shore of Loch Long, just opposite the village of Arrochar. In use between 1912 and 1986, the range was busiest during World War Two; in 1944 more than 12,000 torpedoes were tested.
Image – CGI shows how the building could look.
