The Carse of Stirling Partnership (COSP) was set up in 2012 with assistance from Scottish Natural Heritage and guidance from the Star Development Group. Its aims were to encourage co-operative working between land owners, farmers, communities and businesses in and around the carse over issues that might have previously been tackled in isolation.

Now, five years in, the group is eager to showcase its work on access, flooding, heritage and the environment, and encourage more people to get involved.

The partnership’s chair, John Armstrong, said: “The greatest achievement of the Carse of Stirling Partnership has been getting so many people from so many different backgrounds sitting around a table together, and not just once, but many many times. We’ve been looking at everything from flooding on the carse, through to farm surveys for wildlife, access between the villages, protecting local heritage and promoting the area as a tourist destination. We can’t change things overnight, and it’s taken a lot of ground work to get to this point, but now we’re really eager for even more people to join us and help find solutions to some of the local issues that we all care about.”

As the name implies, the group is particularly focussed on the communities on and around the carse, including the villages of Gargunnock, Kippen, Buchlyvie, Thornhill and Port of Menteith. The map below highlights (in orange) the area covered by the Partnership.

The COSP was recognised for its innovative approach to local engagement and decision making with an Award for Planning Excellence from the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and was also nominated for an RSPB Nature of Scotland Award.