A former Callander church will be put up for sale and a Balfron care home demolished to save money for Stirling Council.
St Kessog’s Church on Ancaster Square and Strathendrick care home on Lomond Terrace are both council-owned properties the local authority has decided to part ways with, in one way or another.
The former Buchanan Primary School near Drymen will also be passed on for development.
The decision was made during a meeting of Stirling Council’s Finance, Economy and Corporate Support Committee today (February 6).
Stirling Council has been struggling financially in recent years and will soon make its latest round of brutal budget cuts for 2025-26.
St Kessog’s for sale after community project dubbed ‘unaffordable’
The future of St Kessog’s has been up in the air for some time.
Leased to a trust with ambitious plans, the historic building (which has not been used as a church since 1985) was later handed back to Stirling Council.
Hoping to use funding from the City Region Deal, the council explored possible uses for the space, including its conversion into a community hub.
Ultimately, however, it was deemed an “unaffordable project” that was “not viable” in 2024.
It has now been decided that St Kessog’s will be put up for sale later this month, with the condition that any change of use change will take into account that the building is a recognised community asset and safeguard it accordingly.
During Thursday’s committee meeting, Trossachs and Teith councillor Martin Earl asked if any rules existed around the consumption or selling of alcohol on the property, since it was once a church.
A council officer told him: “I would prefer just to go away and double-check the position on that.”
Stirling Council says since it took back ownership of the church, “there has been no further committed interest” from community groups.
But, it added: “Officers will continue liaising with the objective of ensuring the community is aware of and engaged in the future development of the property.”
During the meeting, a council officer said the local authority had recently engaged with both Callander‘s development trust and its community council regarding St Kessog’s in order to develop a relationship.
“There’s a retained interest from the community but these buildings cost money,” he said.
Depending on the level of interest from prospective buyers, it is thought the building will be sold within two or three months of marketing.
Affordable housing proposed on former care home site
A little like St Kessog’s, there was some community and external business interest in finding a new use for Balfron’s Strathendrick care home, which was marked for closure in 2021.
However, no commitment has been made towards its purchase or renovation.
Stirling Council’s housing service proposes securing planning permission to demolish the existing building and erect a mix of terraced houses and bungalows on the site.
The homes would be part of an affordable housing development.
If permission is granted, the council will demolish the care home before transferring ownership of the land to its housing revenue account.
Stirling West councillor Neil Benny asked for a timescale for the proposed project.
A council officer told him the aim was to submit the development for planning permission next financial year, with site work to begin in 2026, if approval is granted.
Mr Benny expressed concern about the council’s plan to sell the Strathendrick land for significantly less than market value.
He asked if the potential commercial value had been considered, saying: “It’s in the middle of Balfron, I thought it would be quite lucrative.”
He was assured that all avenues would be considered before a final decision was made.
Homes suggested for closed primary school
Buchanan Primary School was closed in 2022 due to low pupil numbers.
Children attending the school at that time were officially transferred to Drymen Primary School.
Again, there was some community interest in the former school building, but without any official commitment.
As with Strathendrick care home, Stirling Council’s housing service is currently looking into the possibility of creating an affordable housing development on the Buchanan Primary site.
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