I get a lot of complaints, not just from fisher people, but from tourists,and mini bus drivers about the prohibitive cost of parking in Callander.

Lomond shores, has had 40 million,  spent on a new development, there is a large shopping complex, with plenty of FREE  parking spaces, they actually advertise, " Come to  Lomond shores, to the new 40 million shopping centre,  and park for free"

Now, is that not just a kick in the Teeth, for Callander and local businesses, where's the 40 million that's going to be spent in Callander? ha, not a chance!
Stirling Council make more money from parking tickets in Callander, than any other rural community in Scotland ! because it's free every where else !

The fisher people who buy season tickets of me, can spend as much as £380.00 for a visitor roving ticket, which goes to Stirling Council, and they are then expected to buy a parking ticket for parking in the Meadows car park, it's a joke.

There was a recent article in the local paper "The Ben Ledi View," Page 5, Grabbers a-go-go, about litter picking, where local volunteers, helping to clean up rubbish in the car park, by doing a litter pick, wanting to use a local vehicle as a control, where told by the parking attendants, that they had to get, an all day parking ticket, what's happened to common sense, whats happened to the Dunkirk spirit in this country?

Kilmahog,  is just a mile out of Callander, where the Woolen mills have a captive market, there are large, free, parking facilities for buses and cars, essentially,  the same woolen mills operate in Callander,  obviously,  they have no objection, about parking costs in Callander,  this business has a monopoly of trade at Kilmahog, if the buses do not stop in Callander, they still get the business there, of course you can be sure that they will advise their operators of the FREE  facilities at Kilmahog.  Lucky them!

Come on Stirling Council, we need some assistance to help Callander prosper, at least allow the fisher people free parking, a lot of them are regular, they come year after year and bring very welcome revenue to the local economy, however, in the last few years fishing permit prices have fairly shot up, as has the cost of every thing else,  and in these precarious times of economic uncertainty, we need to encourage these anglers to continue to come,  and  we need to  make the facilities, as user friendly as possible.

It would be easy for Stirling council, to issue a parking permit, when the fishing permit is issued, it could be done at the same time, with a simple badge, or stamp, saying parking exempt with season tickets!

I know this is a contentious issue, but we need a united front before anything happen. So if you agree to this, let us know, united maybe something can be done.

Tight lines.