31 October 2015
Callander Landscape Partnership secures £1.5m Heritage Lottery Fund support to connect people
with the countryside in historic geological “gap”
The Callander
Landscape Partnership has been awarded an earmarked grant¹ of £1.5m from the Heritage Lottery
Fund (HLF) through its Landscape Partnership (LP) programme² for the ‘Callander's Pass - Mind The Gap’ project,
it was announced today.
The
community-led project is the result of collaboration between local community organisations,
Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park
Authority, Scottish Natural Heritage(SNH), Forestry Commission Scotland and
Stirling Council. It will use Callander’s unique position on the Highland
Boundary Fault to establish the Stirlingshire town as the ‘Outdoor Capital of
the National Park’ including the creation of visitor interpretation, a cycling
and walking network, and training opportunities in the magnificent surrounding countryside .
The £1.5m funding including
£119,600 for the development phase, will see local community aspirations
originally envisioned at the 2011 Callander planning ‘charrette’3
come to fruition in more than 30 individual projects aimed at better connecting
the town, its people and its visitors to the very special surrounding landscape.
Callander, the
largest town in the National Park, and the surrounding area’s position in the
gap (or “pass”) between the Lowlands and Highlands and at the eastern most corner
of Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park, means it is uniquely
positioned to service the needs of visitors to the National Park and promote
outdoor recreation in the Highlands beyond.
A project team
will be based in Callander and local communities will be heavily involved in the
creation of visitor interpretation with the potential to reach a huge audience
including those who travel to and through the town.
The heritage of
Callander’s Pass is a fascinating mix of geology, wildlife and culture. The
seismic events that created the area’s distinctive landscape also gave rise to
settlements whose stories the Callander Landscape Partnership felt would
forever be lost without action. Callander is also an important area for the
native red squirrel which is threatened by the spread of the introduced grey
squirrel.
Key aims of the
project are to:
- Develop a more co-ordinated approach to heritage
conservation
- Improve and connect wildlife habitats and heritage
- Create a richly woven story of Callander’s Pass and
its people and provide exciting ways to access that story
- Encourage locals and visitors to engage with the area’s
heritage
- Contribute
to a sustainable economy and community in and around Callander
Paul Prescott who is Chair of the
Callander Landscape Partnership said: “We are thrilled that the Heritage Lottery Fund has given us this support. It’s wonderful news for the
people of Callander and gives us an opportunity to preserve and enhance our
heritage for the benefit of residents and visitors alike.”
Lucy Casot, Head of the Heritage
Lottery Fund in Scotland, said: “Our species and habitats are under constant
threat yet they make a massive contribution to our economy. HLF is delighted to
make this award as it will make a real difference to the Callander area and the
people that live there. Thanks to National Lottery players, nature-based
tourism can be developed without detriment to the beautiful surroundings and
people will reconnect with, and appreciate the nature that makes Scotland so
special.”
Cabinet
Secretary for Rural Affairs, Food and the Environment, Richard Lochhead said:
“It is great to see that the Callander Landscape Partnership has been
awarded £1.5 million to develop a historic gateway between Lowlands and
Highlands.
“I am delighted to see the power of community and partnership working
coming together in this project that will develop the cultural and natural
heritage within the iconic landscape of Scotland’s first National Park, Loch
Lomond & The Trossachs. This project will provide job and training
opportunities, benefits for local communities, as well as the obvious benefits
for the environment.
“The wellbeing and prosperity of Scotland depends on the health of our
environment. As set out in the Scotland’s Biodiversity Route Map to 2020, it is
vital that action is taken now to care for, protect and restore fragile
habitats and species. This investment will allow substantial work to be
carried out which will support the aims of the 2020 Challenge for
Biodiversity.”
Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National
Park Chief Executive, Gordon Watson, said: “This is a wonderful example of a
community taking forward a vision and putting it into action and I’d like to
pay tribute to everyone involved for the magnificent effort to get the project
to this stage. It is partnership working at its best and the benefits will be
felt by Callander’s community and visitors for many years to come.”
Iain Rennick, SNH’s Forth Unit Manager, added: “We’re really delighted to be able to support this successful HLF bid. This
new investment to promote and improve access to the area around Callander will
help people enjoy this special landscape in years to come, as well as helping
to protect the unique wildlife that lives there."
Notes
A Landscape Partnership (LP) earmarked grant means that money has been
set aside by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for the scheme in question. The
applicant then progresses to the second round and submits a further,
fully-developed application to secure the full award. This early level of strong financial
commitment means that LPs can build strong partnerships with the assurance that
funding for their scheme is in place provided that their final proposals fully
meet the programme's criteria.
² HLF’s Landscape Partnerships are helping bring together members of the
community as well as local, regional, and national organisations to deliver
schemes which benefit some of the UK’s most outstanding landscapes and rural
communities. Grants range from £100,000
up to £3m. The next closing date for LP applications
is May 2015.
3 A ‘charrette’ is a design-led workshop where the community and relevant
agencies (roads, education, economic development, greenspace etc.) get together
with planners and architects to help build a vision for that community.
To find out more about the Scottish Government’s ‘charrette
mainstreaming’ programme and the Callander charrette see:
www.creatingplacesscotland.org
www.lochlomond-trossachs.org/living/callander-charrette
Source Url: http://www.lochlomond-trossachs.org/looking-after/mind-the-gap/menu-id-483.html