As Stirling gets ready for the busy summer tourist season, some retail and restaurant units lie empty in the city centre.
The Courier has done some digging to find out what we can about the future plans for a few of those vacant spaces.
Here are eight empty units you have probably spotted in Stirling and what might be planned for them going forward.
1. 62 Upper Craigs
This unit on Upper Craigs was previously a kitchen for Soupbox, a meal preparation company that supplies a range of football teams in Scotland.
The shop has been sitting empty for several months, but work has taken place to completely strip out its interior.
The floor and all previous fixtures and fitting have been removed, leaving the brickwork underneath exposed.
No planning applications have been submitted to Stirling Council for the site, but work does seem to be underway to modify the building.
2. 30 Goosecroft Road
Goosecroft Road’s Papa Johns pizza restaurant closed in 2024, and has been empty ever since.
There is some good news for pizza lovers, though, as Pizza Hut is in the process of relocating from its former premises at 3 Cowane Street to open up on Goosecroft Road.
Renovation work is well underway, with new signage installed and decals applied to the windows.
The restaurant is due to open later this week, on Friday, May 9.
3. 41 Friars Street
This impressive eatery on the corner of Barnton Street and Friars Street is the former home of Shawarma Corner.
The business closed in 2024, and the unit has been vacant ever since.
There are currently no planning applications for the site, which was once the home of La Ciociara.
The murals from the long-closed Italian restaurant still adorn the walls inside.
4. 3 Barnton Street
Many locals will know this address better as The Barnton, a popular student pub which shut its doors a number of years ago.
Since closing, the former bar and bistro has become a bit of an eyesore at the heart of Stirling, with its long-faded drinks promotion advertising still in place outside.
Despite a recent attempt to crowdfund money for a reopening, there are no current plans for the building.
5. 23-25 Barnton Street
With its distinctive wood panelling and large windows, Golden Crown Chinese takeaway was established on Barnton Street in the 1970s.
The popular takeaway closed its doors at the hight of the Covid pandemic, in November 2021, and never reopened.
The building is currently up for sale, with a number listed in the window for prospective buyers to call.
6. 13 Murray Place
Some adventurers will remember this building housing a branch of travel agent Thomas Cook, before the company folded in 2019.
Since then, the space was briefly occupied by Teamspace, a flexible workspace provider which applied the branding still currently on the unit.
The proposed workspace never opened, and the shop is currently listed as available to rent by Falconer Properties.
7. 5-7 Upper Craigs
This large unit on Upper Craigs was once the home of My Dessert House Stirling, which shut in 2023.
The building was then stripped out and renovations started.
However, work has now stopped and the building sits empty, with assorted road signs and construction materials stored inside.
There are no planning applications in progress for the development of the unit, meaning Stirling residents will have to wait and see if work continues.
8. 2-4 Lower Bridge Street
Now an empty space rather than an empty unit, the derelict former West End Bar was demolished last month, after slowly deteriorating over a number of years.
The pub has been levelled to make way for a four-storey block of student flats, but work is yet to start on the construction project.
Currently, the space where the pub once was consists of a hole in the ground, with scaffolding surrounding it in preparation for the project to get underway.
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