Living and Working: Falkirk

{mosimage}The Crossroads of Scotland
Care Appointments Scotland examines life and work in Falkirk…
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Historically, the area in and around Falkirk was the ‘crossroads’ of Scotland and as such it has great historical significance – it was the scene of many battles, the outcomes of which helped shape the future of Scotland, and later became the epicentre of the Industrial Revolution in Scotland which impacted across the globe.

It seems likely that the foundations of Falkirk town were laid during the time when the Romans had arrived in Scotland and the Antonine Wall, the most northerly point of the vast Roman Empire, was being built.

Post-Roman times, during the Middle Ages, a church was built on the site of what we now know as Falkirk and it is from this church – Faw-Kirk – that the town, and the district, derives its name. Around the church, farms soon sprung up, raising cattle in the settlements of Callendar, Torwood, Airth and Blackness and by 1550, Falkirk had grown into a market town.

During the 18th and 19th centuries the annual cattle markets at Falkirk were the largest of their kind in Europe, but by this time the town and area had developed in other ways – the Industrial Revolution had been born and the world famous blast furnaces at Carron shone the light of progress across the land and for miles around.

The present in Falkirk has much to recommend it too. A wide variety of glorious parks and gardens as well as first class sports and leisure facilities sit alongside some of central Scotland’s finest shopping possibilities – Callendar Square is the nation’s largest pedestrianised High Street, where household names and specialist independent outlets combine to provide a shopping experience to satisfy even the strongest desire for retail therapy.

Museums, heritage sites, castles, canals and the now legendary Falkirk Wheel, mean that in your leisure time you’ll never have far to travel in order find something interesting to do, see or visit. {mospagebreak}

Location
If Falkirk’s location as the crossroads of Scotland has historical significance, the fact that it is located between Edinburgh and Glasgow, and is at the centre of Scotland’s road and rail transport means that nowadays the area is perfectly placed to be at the ‘centre’ of a great deal of activity.

Companies such as ASDA, BP, Avecia, CALA Homes, Thomas Cook, Transbus International, TSC and many many more have set up here.

As it is situated almost mid-way between Scotland’s two largest cities the area’s geographical position is at the very convergence of all routes in Central Scotland.

By Road – Motorways run through the area to the west, north and east of Falkirk, making it possible to travel quickly and easily in any direction on uncrowded roads. Glasgow and Edinburgh are a little over 30-minutes drive; Stirling 15 minutes.

By Air – Edinburgh Airport is only minutes drive from Falkirk, with Glasgow Airport around 45 minutes.

By Rail – The area is well served with railway stations. Falkirk town has two and there are further stations at Polmont, Larbert and Camelon and one planned for Grangemouth. There are regular services to Glasgow and Edinburgh from all of these stations, with journey times to each city taking around 25 minutes.

By Sea – Grangemouth is Scotland’s busiest deep water port. Established over 200 years ago, it was the first UK port to open a Container Terminal, and has sophisticated bulk handling facilities as well as Roll On/Roll Off capability.

The most up-to-date statistics available put the populations of the area’s main towns as follows:
– Falkirk 32,422
– Stenhousemuir 10,351
– Larbert 6,425
– Grangemouth 17,906
– Denny 7,385
– Carron/Carronshore 5,593
– Bo’ness 13,961
– Polmont 5,422
– Bonnybridge 4,745 {mospagebreak}

The Future – My Future’s in Falkirk
My Future’s in Falkirk is an ambitious £23 million plan to transform the Falkirk area into a thriving, diverse and modern economy, helping local businesses to grow, attracting both companies and visitors into the area and creating and maintaining jobs for local people.
Evolved from the Falkirk Action Plan, My Future’s in Falkirk is led by Scottish Enterprise Forth Valley, BP and Falkirk Council, with financial support from the European Regional Development Fund.

The ten year objectives of the plan are to:
– grow local companies
– create up to 4250 new jobs
– stimulate up to £200 million of additional investment
– relocate a diverse range of new businesses to the area; and
– generate up to £50 million a year for the Falkirk economy.

The plan focuses on Innovation Falkirk (exploiting and developing new technologies); Successful Falkirk (creating capacity for business growth); Networked Falkirk (exploiting physical and digital connections to the world) and  Experience Falkirk (living, working and visiting Falkirk).

Charlene O’Connor, Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise Forth Valley commented:
“Under My Future’s in Falkirk, Falkirk is changing and changing for the better. The numerous regeneration projects being implemented under My Future’s in Falkirk are positioning Falkirk as an attractive area to live, work and invest – a place where people can be confident about their future. My Future’s in Falkirk reflects this confidence and we know it is what people currently living and doing business in the community want to feel and say about their area.”

Conclusion
Falkirk has a great deal to recommend it as a place to live and to work – its central location; a burgeoning investment, employment and economic situation; a delightful cultural mix of historical significance and modern innovation; AND Falkirk FC – The Bairns – are these days to be found plying their trade in the Scottish Premier League!