Fresh calls have been made for community ownership of a former rural Stirling fire station after the site was officially mothballed this week. The fire station at Crianlarich has been closed for good following the conclusion of a review led by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) into its service.
Background of the Closure
The fire station in Crianlarich has been out of use and dormant since 2016, with the area covered by other stations. The recommendations from the SFRS’ Service Delivery Review were initially mooted in 2025, with 23 options laid out and consulted on across the country. One of the key points was the closure of five long dormant rural station sites, with the Crianlarich building included alongside stations in Fetlar, Nethy Bridge, Ratagan and Isle of Muck. The decisions follow struggles in recent years in finding locals willing to be trained as firefighters and able to occupy the building, with the station having been inactive for some time.
Community Vision for the Site
Stirling MP Alyn Smith and SNP colleague Gene Maxwell, a councillor for the Trossachs and Teith region, have now made suggestions to the SFRS about the possibility of the station being opened up for wider community use – including for business purposes. Mr Smith said: “I think this is a pragmatic decision and much as I don’t like to see provision cut, this station had a lack of personnel for some time and I’m reassured there will be more effective provision from elsewhere. What comes next could be exciting for the village, as the site is a prime location on the main road with a big car park nearby and could be a great asset.”
That call was backed by Councillor Maxwell, who suggested an interest on the future of the building and the car park. He said: “I have been in touch with the community over a number of years on the state of the Stirling Council-owned car park, and this site could, if transferred to the community, be put to all sorts of uses to the betterment of locals and visitors alike. I look forward to hearing from SFRS how they plan to offload the site soon.”
Broader SFRS Changes
The programme of SFRS changes have also seen transformations across the network, with two new fire stations set to be built in Cowcaddens and Tranent, alongside the closure of single-pump sites at Yorkhill and Musselburgh. A day-shift duty system (DSDS) will be implemented at Hawick, Helensburgh, Cumbernauld and Milngavie. These four sites are affected by RAAC and confirmation of changes to the duty system will allow remediation work and station upgrades to begin. Around 60 staff from areas with lower demand for services will be placed into other “safety-critical” roles across “prevention, training and operational delivery”, while 20 new on-call roles will be created.
SFRS Chief Officer Statement
SFRS chief officer Stuart Stevens said: “The Service Delivery Review is a critical programme to modernise how we work and deliver long-term sustainability. Its primary purpose is to ensure that we meet emerging risk and demand across Scotland, while enabling us to address urgent property issues. These changes are the start of a strategic redesign of the Service to improve outcomes for the communities of Scotland.” And he pointed out: “We recognise that this process has been challenging and, at times, emotive for our staff and communities where changes are proposed. There have been extensive efforts to engage with staff and communities to fully understand their views.”
