Callander lies at the eastern edge of the Loch Lomond Trossachs National Park. The combined social, economic and environmental aims of the park created new opportunities, and challenges, for the town.
Our study considered ways of realising these opportunities in a way that would protect the special qualities of the town and the surrounding area.
Working with local stakeholders we developed a programme of actions ranging from the redevelopment and enhancement of an existing riverside car park, the identification of potential locations for a range of recreation and tourism developments, to a range of smaller scale, community oriented projects.
The study combined environmental inputs from LUC as lead consultants with community inputs from the Small Town and Rural Development Group and commercial inputs from the Tourism Resources Company. We used detailed survey, consultation and precedent analysis to develop an ambitious programme of work which caught the imagination of local people.
Our approach gained the support of the National Park Authority and its partners and led to our being commissioned to carry out another three such studies for different parts of the National Park (West Loch Lomond; East Loch Lomond and Dunoon and the Marine Gateway to the National Park).
Each of these studies built on the action plans generated through the award winning National Park Community Futures Programme. They are central to the National Park's approach to Destination Development and have now fed into the development of the National Park Local Plan which was launched for consultation at the end of November 2008.
