£1.43million Lottery funding boost for Callander Landscape Partnership

A grant of £1,430,300 has been awarded to the Callander Landscape Partnership through the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

HLF’s Landscape Partnership programme – which has now been running for 12 years – is the most significant grant scheme available for landscape-scale projects.

The funding will provide a significant support for the Callander Landscape Partnership. Set in a fascinating landscape that takes in both the Lowlands and Highlands, Callander is a natural and cultural gateway to the National Park and the Highlands.

This ambitious project will help transform the town of Callander into the ‘Outdoor Capital of the National Park’, with a more accessible and conserved landscape ready for visitors and locals to enjoy and explore.

It will include more than 20 smaller projects in and around the town covering the four themes of ‘restore, explore, research and engage’.

Specific plans include:

• improve access and restoration of the Victorian Walkway at the Falls of Leny,
• improving and conserving the area’s natural heritage,
• exploring the past through cultural heritage and archaeology,
• creating a cycling and walking network,
• enhancing visitor interpretation to encourage people to make the most of getting active in the outdoors.

Chair of Callander Landscape Partnership Paul Prescott said: “Callander’s location right on the Highland Boundary Fault where Scotland’s highlands and lowlands meet makes the area’s landscape unique and it’s this distinctive character that the Landscape Partnership will restore, enhance and celebrate.

“We want to engage more people in the landscape and the cultural heritage of the area through an array of exciting opportunities, and encourage greater sustainable exploration of this special place.

“This is a real partnership with 15 partners from across the community, public bodies, voluntary sector organisations, local businesses and landowners all working together to develop the vision and road map for delivering this ambitious set of projects. We are delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund have awarded this funding and look forward to getting these projects underway in the coming months.”

The award from the Heritage Lottery Fund is a catalyst that unlocks a total project value of around £2.2 million, with additional funding been raised to match-fund the grant. Partners, volunteers and other grant funders are all contributing to the overall total of this exciting and transformational project.

In 2015, Callander Landscape Partnership secured £140,000 of Heritage Lottery Funding and partner contributions from Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority and Scottish Natural Heritage to develop the scheme that focuses on the landscape surrounding Callander. This second stage of funding will allow the Partnership to start delivering its plans.

Lucy Casot, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund in Scotland: “Our species and habitats are under constant threat yet they make a massive contribution to our economy. The enormous pressures upon them mean that we have to approach landscape restoration and conservation on a bigger scale than ever before. Thanks to funding from the National Lottery, Callander’s Landscape will bring real cohesion to the natural and built heritage of the area with a diverse range of fascinating projects and activities. I would urge everyone to get involved, to uncover, cherish and have fun with the heritage that is yours.”

Callander Landscape Partnership will help deliver key outcomes set out in the recently launched National Park Partnership Plan, the overarching vision for widening the benefits of the Park over the next five years.

Ends

Notes to editors:

The Callander Landscape Partnership comprises:

• Callander’s Countryside
• Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority
• Callander Community Council
• Callander Community Development Trust
• McLaren Leisure Centre
• Callander Heritage Society
• Callander Ramblers
• Scottish Natural Heritage
• Scottish Wildlife Trust (Callander)
• Forestry Commission Scotland
• Stirling Council
• Drumardoch Estate
• FABB (Facilitating Access Breaking Barriers)
• Callander Youth Project
• River Forth Fisheries Trust

Callander is the largest town in Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park.

Find out more about the National Park Partnership Plan.