The Ochils Landscape Partnership is celebrating an award of £631,500 from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The windfall means the £2.26 million scheme - which includes 22 individual projects - can now move into a three year implementation phase. The scheme will conserve the area's built, social and natural heritage with opportunities for local people to learn and participate in the work.

Two years ago the Heritage Lottery Fund announced that the Ochils Landscape Partnership (OLP) was one of three Scottish schemes being invited to submit a detailed application for an award. Since then the partnership has been working on a fully developed application to secure this latest award.

Councillor Eddie Carrick, the Council's Sustainability Portfolio Holder and chairman of the OLP steering group, said: "This is fantastic news and is the culmination of many years of hard work and commitment by all the partners involved. But of course this is not the end, in fact it is really just the beginning. As we move into the delivery phase, I am already looking forward to seeing the first spade going into the ground.

"This is a very exciting project which will not only conserve the natural, cultural and built heritage of the Ochils, but bring economic, educational and social benefits to the people of Clackmannanshire and attract visitors to the area."

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Ochils Landscape Partnership aims to increase access to the hills and wooded glens of the Ochils, improve the quality of its rivers, restore significant buildings as well as providing opportunities for the community to tell the story of the area's cultural, social and industrial heritage.

The Partnership includes public sector bodies, local land owners, educational institutions and community groups.

Key parts of the project are the conservation of the county's Historic Kirkyards with work to protect gravestones and the creation of on-site interpretation panels and a kirkyards trail leaflet; work to conserve and promote the 18th century B-listed Alva Ice House; and Ochils Orientation - a project to create interactive material using new media which interprets the Ochils as a 'virtual landscape'.

There will also be an annual Ochils Festival every June during the 3 years implementation period.

Other priorities include improving access to the Ochils and Hillfoots, the conservation and enhancement of built and natural features safeguarding bio-diversity and the restoration of the River Devon. The scheme also aims to sensitively interpret the significant features that the area has to offer, promoting the conservation and celebration of local cultural associations, such as the history and remnants of the textile industry.

Colin McLean, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in Scotland, said: "We've had great success with our Landscape Partnership Schemes. They are unique in that they bring together community groups and public bodies with a shared passion of caring for our incredible natural environment.

"This investment in the Ochils LPS is important to HLF, particularly in the International Year of Biodiversity, because it not only encourages people to work together effectively but gives them a greater sense of involvement and connection to hills on their doorstep. We are delighted that the Ochils LPS developed this holistic programme for the area's heritage and would urge others to follow."

Funding for the project has already been secured from EDF Energy, Clackmannanshire Heritage Trust, the Clackmannanshire and Stirling Environment Trust and Clackmannanshire Council.

The Ochils Landscape Partnership area occupies the northern section of Clackmannanshire, crossing over into Stirling at Blairlogie and Dumyat. The area, focusing on the southern escarpment of Ochil Hills and the Hillfoots (Dollar, Tillicoultry, Alva and Menstrie), contains a diverse landscape comprising of rugged glens, rapid water flow, meandering streams, carseland, peaks, upland grazing, natural sponges, planted and ancient woodland, designed landscapes and small built up areas.

(GK)