Following the news that Stirling Council is to take back full ownership and operation of the National Wallace Monument, Stirling District Tourism (SDT) have described the decision as a "major setback".

Board members of the SDT said they learned of the decision to terminate the organisation's lease on The National Wallace Monument, just two months before it expires in May 2020 with "great regret".

An independent charity, Stirling District Tourism has successfully managed and operated the Monument as a visitor attraction since 1995, enabling it to become recognised as a landmark of national and international significance.

For over four years now the charity's trustees have been engaged in negotiations with the Council, in an effort to renew the lease, and the decision is a major setback for the organisation, which employs over 30 people.

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Responding to the news, SDT Chair Zillah Jamieson said: "This decision has been taken by Stirling Council for reasons which we believe are not in the best interests of the Monument, and which will be detrimental to its future as one of Stirling's most important heritage properties.

"Stirling District Tourism had proposed a new partnership agreement through which it would commit to an increase of 100% in its annual lease payment to Stirling Council, to an investment of £0.5m in the future conservation and development of the Monument as an attraction (in conjunction with an application to the Heritage Lottery Fund), to managing destination marketing activities for the city of Stirling, and to the management of other heritage properties and new attractions developed through the Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Deal.

"We hope that Stirling Council appreciates that as a result of rejecting our proposal, there will be complications involved in transferring the business to another undertaking, as SDT's ownership of assets, including the Visitor Reception Centre and Legends Coffee House, will all need to be taken into account."

Zillah Jamieson concluded: "SDT's over-riding priority will now be to protect the interests of the charity's employees, whose commitment to The National Wallace Monument has enabled the attraction to become internationally renowned."