Callander honoured for social enterprise gains

Callanderhasbeenrecognised with a national award honouring it as a “hotspot” of social enterprise activity.

The town has been named Scotland’s first Social Enterprise Place, acknowledging the impact social businesses – which trade for a social or environmental purpose, reinvesting profits to maximise impact – are having on communities in the local area.

Such firms form a growing part of Callander’s local econ- omy, tackling issues including social mobility, access to affordable housing, health and wellbeing, social isolation, and access to the surrounding countryside. They include community-owned renewable energy project Callander Community Hydro.

It comes ahead of the official opening today of the Social Enterprise World Forum when more than 1,400 delegates will visit Edinburgh.

There are more than 80,000 social enterprises in the UK and they add more than £24 billion to the wider economy.