Our place

Our economy

Social enterprise

In 2019 Callander was named Scotland’s first Social Enterprise Place. Our social enterprise sector comprises of the McLaren Leisure Centre, Callander Youth Project Trust, Callander Community Hydro and Creative in Callander.

McLaren Leisure Centre is a significant local employer, providing 30 jobs. Residents and people from neighbouring communities value it highly as a community resource. Its facilities include a swimming pool, fitness suite, games pitches, sports hall, indoor climbing wall, and fitness classes. It also offers meeting rooms, event spaces and a popular café.

Callander Youth Project offers a range of youth clubs and holiday programmes for P6-S3 children, SVQs in hospitality, modern apprenticeships, and employment support. Training programmes are available up to age 29. It also creates employment opportunities through its commercial operations as an events venue and visitor accommodation provider.

Callander Community Hydro offers funding for projects with clear community benefits. Since it started operating, it has generated over 10 million kilowatt-hours of clean energy and has committed £337,061 to local projects.

Our Visitor Information Centre is entirely funded by Callander Community Development Trust via the Hydro Fund.

Creative in Callander is an artists’ and makers’ collective with retail premises on the Main Street.

Tourism

Callander has been a popular visitor destination since the 19th Century, and between 1858 and 1965 it was easily reached by rail. By the 1960s, particularly during the Glasgow Fair fortnight, demand for accommodation was so great that some hosts would let out their own rooms and camp in tents.

In the late 1990s demand for hotel and B&B accommodation began to wane. Currently, day trippers predominate. Callander does still host significant numbers of overnight visitors but most now favour self-catering accommodation. Since 2016, six B&Bs have closed. In their wake short-term holiday let businesses have sprung up, 54 of which operate from former residential properties.

There is a degree of tension between residents and visitors which is exacerbated by antisocial or thoughtless visitor behaviour. However, Callander does enjoy facilities that might not be available were it not for the influx of visitors.

The Main Street

Shops in the Main Street are geared mostly to tourists: 60% are non-essential retail while only 6% provide the convenience services needed regularly by residents.

Since early 2022 some new businesses have opened, however the range of choice remains narrow for those wishing to shop locally. In our consultation, both High School students and residents felt this was a negative aspect of living here.

At the time of writing there is a retail unit vacancy rate of 7%. Some units have been vacant for over five years. The main issues deterring new tenants are high rental charges and poorly maintained properties.

Many businesses, particularly those in food services, have been forced to restrict opening hours because they cannot find serving or kitchen staff.

Trades

There is a good range of skilled tradespeople in Callander. Many of them rent units at the Lagrannoch Industrial Estate or the Cambusmore Estate.

There is little evidence that additional light industrial units are required: there are vacant units at the Cambusmore Estate. However, it was felt that the Stirling Council-owned Lagrannoch units urgently needed upgrading.

Evening economy

Compared to other tourist-focussed towns, Callander offers little evening entertainment. The Crown Hotel and The Old Rectory Inn both regularly feature live traditional music and the Crown also hosts cabaret performances.

Callander’s pubs offer food service but most restaurants are closed by 7.30 p.m.

In the Place Standard survey, the lack of restaurants was one of the most common complaints. Residents and visitors would benefit from a more diverse evening economy.