Overview
A Masterplan and Delivery Programme for Fort William and Lochaber
Fort William 2040 (FW2040) is an ongoing project to coordinate and deliver a shared place-based Vision for the future of Fort William and Lochaber. This Vision and accompanying Masterplan and Delivery Programme have been prepared with feedback gathered from consultation events held in 2018 and 2019 involving people living, working, and investing in the area. Ongoing engagement events and consultation continue to generate feedback on the Vision, the individual projects it contains, and on the place Fort William and the wider area could and should be.
The Vision
The FW2040 consultation process generated feedback on the sort of place Fort William and its wider area could and should be. Most of the focus was on physical, spatial ideas about the better use of land and water but contributors also recognised that far more could be achieved if all stakeholders work together.
The consensus view on the wider qualities and values the town and area should represent was distilled into the following themes:
- a Great Place to Live - with a unique landscape and distinctive local communities. Sufficient and affordable housing is a key issue for the area, as well as facilities and accommodation for visitors, with a need to attract and retain a diverse range of residents, visitors, and enterprises
- a Connected Place - highlights the need to maximise opportunities for a diverse range of transport and other connecting networks, including new technologies
- a Place Facing Water - this theme focuses on the importance of water and the need to take full advantage of existing water assets to support industry, tourism, and communities
- a Place with Collective Vision - This underpins all work on FW2040 and is about new ways of working based on strong partnerships and good communication
- addressing Climate Change and Ecological Emergency - The 2019 feedback introduced a new theme of 'Addressing the Climate Change and Ecological Emergency', which many respondents felt should be a guiding principle for FW2040. From this, it was agreed that project delivery partners should work towards Fort William becoming a net-zero town. All the larger FW2040 projects will be subject to further environmental assessment as they progress. All projects, regardless of scale, will be encouraged to consider ways in which they can contribute to the net-zero target.
Masterplan
The Masterplan summarises the list of physical projects that are being progressed, or have been completed, to deliver the FW2040 vision. Each project is at a different stage of progress, and some require further work to explore feasibility and funding to enable their delivery. However, they all have a degree of commitment that makes them worthy of inclusion and further refinement.
The corresponding Delivery Programme outlines the progress being made with these Masterplan projects, and key next steps, as reported regularly to the FW2040 Project Board.
The FW2040 Masterplan and Delivery Programme are reviewed regularly and updated on at least an annual basis as new projects emerge, commitments are firmed up and as projects are completed and removed from the delivery programme.
Current priority projects and consultations are highlighted on the following pages and on the Map of current projects.