Introduction

Background

One of the key aims of the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 is to empower communities, allowing them meaningful input into the decisions made on their behalf by statutory authorities.

The Callander Community Council area is served by two planning authorities: Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTTNP) to the west of the National Park border; and Stirling Council to the east. (See Figure 1, below.)

Within the National Park border, LLTTNP also oversees visitor experience, conservation and land management.

Throughout the Callander Community Council area, Stirling Council is responsible for most of our public services: education, social services, some social housing, sanitation, community liaison, economic development, non-trunk roads, traffic management and building standards.

We will submit this Local Place Plan to both planning authorities.

Our Place Plan is the result of multiple public consultations held between July 2021 and June 2022. The Covid-19 pandemic prevented us from holding the open day meetings we are accustomed to. Instead, we provided a series of regularly updated statistical snapshots of the town on our dedicated website and drove participation online rather than in person.

The Place Plan sets out our vision of a connected, active, prosperous, resilient and cohesive community, and suggests how these aims can be achieved. Callander’s residents have a strong sense of place and believe that the integrity of our natural and built environment should be protected without compromising the economic benefits accrued from living in a setting of outstanding natural beauty.

Importantly, this Place Plan belongs to the community. It was formulated during a period of great uncertainty — the Covid-19 pandemic — but with optimism that life would eventually return to normal. Nobody could have foreseen the subsequent invasion of Ukraine or the global energy, food and cost of living crises that have arisen as a result, and it is likely that local strategies will need to evolve to meet these challenges.

The Place Plan should, therefore, be seen as a foundation for closer engagement between the community, planners and our local authority: one that can be built on during its lifespan with Callander residents’ local knowledge and best interests at its heart.

Figure 1. The two planning authority areas in Callander