by Communications TEAM | Nov 12, 2023 | announcement, News
Give your views on whether you agree with proposed budget cuts and how you might be affected through a survey, hosted on the Council’s Engage Stirling platform,
Stirling Council has launched an online survey for residents to have their say on proposals to bridge an estimated £13 million budget gap in the next financial year.
The Council must make up this shortfall to balance the budget despite making significant savings of around £6 million in the current financial year.
The majority of Scottish councils’ funding comes from the Scottish Government. In Stirling Council nearly 79% of the budget comes from a Scottish Government grant and our share of the Government’s non-domestic rates or business rates, with the rest raised from council tax to support the budget.
A new round of drop-in events are currently taking place across the Stirling area following community engagement sessions that took place in August and September.
Stirling Council Leader, Cllr Chris Kane said: “These are all proposals and no decisions have been taken yet.
“To help us make these difficult decisions when we set the Council’s budget, we need to know how these potential savings or increase in charges would impact you.
“These proposals have been developed by every Council service and cover the likes of schools, nurseries, roads, waste, housing, transport, libraries, community centres and parks and greenspaces. They will impact everyone who lives, works and studies in Stirling. So it’s really important that you take part in this survey and tell us your views.”
Residents can learn more about the proposals and the Council’s challenging financial situation at the latest Big Conversation drop-in events, with staff from various services in attendance at each one.
Cllr Kane added: “The proposed savings make for stark reading and underline the incredibly tough decisions we will have to make to set a balanced budget.
A selection of the proposed savings or increases in charges are listed below:
- Close or reduce council-managed community centres.
- Stop the annual mowing of rural road verges, reduce grass cutting or increase space for pollinator spaces.
- Closure of some libraries.
- Reduction in budget for events and festivals.
- Removal of the ‘road-end’ waste collection policy.
- Stop the greenspace ranger service.
- Reduce spending on maintenance at buildings and facilities.
- Removal of the community grant scheme.
- Reduce free, confidential and impartial accredited money, debt and benefit advice to residents.
- Change the operating models (opening times and capacity) at some nurseries.
- Increase non statutory childcare fees.
- Reduce or stop the play, creche, play and out of school care service.
- Reduce teachers in the additional support needs outreach team.
- Removal of the P5 swimming programme.
- Reduce the primary school week for pupils.
- Close some or all public toilets.
More details and the full list of proposals can be found in the online survey on the Engage Stirling platform.
See below for dates and times of the remaining round of Big Conversation drop-in events:
- Stirling High School – Monday 13 November, 6pm to 7.30pm
- Balfron High School – Wednesday 15 November, 6pm to 7.30pm
- Wallace High School – Monday 20 November, 6pm to 7.30pm
- Bannockburn High School – Wednesday 22 November, 6pm to 7.30pm
- Dunblane High School – Monday 27 November, 6pm to 7.30pm
For more information, please visit stirling.gov.uk/bigconversation
Remember to use the hashtag #BigConversation2425 to provide feedback and ideas on our social media channels.
by Communications TEAM | Aug 20, 2023
The University of Edinburgh has recently purchased land at Drumbrae, by Sherrifmuir Road, north of Bridge of Allan, and has plans to create woodlands on the site to sequester carbon, improve biodiversity, and maintain access for local communities.
Anyone interested in finding out more can attend a drop in session.
- When: 2pm to 8pm, Friday 25 August 2023
- Where: Bridge of Allan Sports Club in the Minewood Suite.
A team from the university will be on hand to discuss and explain the draft proposals. Large-scale maps will also be on display.
by Communications TEAM | Mar 19, 2022 | announcement, News
Extended time to feedback on proposals
The closing date to give your feedback on what should go on the flood protection long list has been extended to March 27th. Remember this is an early step in a long process, so there will be more chances to feedback on more defined options later in the year. After the 27th of March Stirling Council will finalize the full Long List of options and then work on refining this long list to a short list.
The Short List will be ready for general release and comment in May. During May and June there will be more in person and online events to allow engagement and discussions to take place.
Recent consultation sessions
Thanks to those of you who have attended or made the attempt to attend the onlie sessions. We have been informed of difficulties engaging with online platform and will be feeding this back to the council. But please to let them know your experience directly. The presentation is due to be available from the 21st on the project web page.
Do you have photos or videos of past flooding in BofA?
You can also submit your pictures of historic flood extent. These can be valuable evidence to help refine flood models. It would be ideal if these were time and date stamped and were submitted before short listing in April however it would be welcomed at any stage. You can submit records using this online form where you put in the date and source of flooding, choose a location from a map and upload a file.
Upstream and catchment wide work
Some discussion at our recent Community Council meeting touched on the need to consider the upstream catchement areas in regard to flooding in Bridge of Allan. Indeed there are many factors that contribute to flood risk and opportunities to mitigate them. Excellent background research about flooding in the Allan Water Catchment can be found in this 2011 Natural Flood Management Study. The 2022-2028 Draft Flood Risk Management Plan for the Forth district (LPD9) also contains priority actions and objectives to avoid, reduce and prepare for flooding specific to Bridge of Allan.
Forth Rivers Trust have been working for some time on the Allan Water upstream with land owners on Natural Flood Management (NFM) measures such as tree planting and wetland restoration.
by Communications TEAM | Mar 4, 2022 | announcement, News
We recently saw the dramatic effect heavy rainfall and snowmelt can have on our village with Hawes Park, the allotments and a section of Cornton road being flooded on February 20th. In addition Henderson street often floods with rainwater at the Memorial Park causing further travel disruption.
Thanks to Katy Joy Whitelaw for use of her video. Credit to SEPA for the aerial image of flooding from 2006.
The impacts could have been more disrupting and damaging if we did not have any flood protection in the village. The current protection measures are now ageing and Stirling Council are exploring the options to replace them.
How can you find out more
In our November meeting Stirling Council’s Operations Team Leader Maria Lucey gave us a presentation explaining the state of the existing defenses, overview and costs of the range of options considered. Stirling Council now have a number of in person and online opportunities for you to find out more and feedback your views.
Project Website
The project has a dedicated website full of useful information and links to the consultation and events. On this site you will be able to:
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- Find out the background to the project
- Learn about the flood protection options
- View a Flood Extent Map of the area
- Complete an online survey about the proposed options
- Suggest additional options that are not currently considered
Bridge of Allan Library
Printed copies of the information are available to view at the Library during its normal opening hours. These will be available until March 21th.
Online Events
Two online presentations will be held on the evenings of the 8th and 14th of March 7-8pm. To attend you should sign up using this online form. Recordings of the presentation will be made available after the events.
In Person Events
Three in person sessions are available for anyone to drop in.
- Thursday 10th March, 14:00 – 18:00, Fire Station, Cornton Road
- Friday 11th March, 11:00 – 15:00, Provost Park, Henderson Street (Opposite Westerton Arms)
- Wednesday 16th March, 14:00 – 18:00, location Co-Op Car Park, 12 Fountain Road
What’s next?
This is the early stages of Information Gathering to understanding everyone’s views and preferences. A long list of options will be generated based on all feedback from stakeholders. Then long list appraisal work will be undertaken to determine a short list of viable options. These will be further explored and eventually deciding on a preferred option that will be taken forward for detailed design.
by Communications TEAM | May 12, 2021 | announcement
Virtual public meetings have been organised as part of Stirling Council’s consultation on the expansion of secondary specialist provision for young people with additional support needs (ASN).
The consultation, which started on 19 April, will ensure the Council can support the growing number of children and young people with ASN. In Stirling, this has risen from 2,817 in 2013 to 3,528 in 2019. Improved assessment and recording is one factor behind this trend which is also mirrored nationally.
The first virtual public event will take place on Thursday (13 May) on the Council’s Engage Stirling platform and will be hosted on Microsoft Teams. It will get underway at 6.30pm and will finish at 8.30pm. A second session will be held via the same means on Monday, 17 May, between 2pm and 4pm.
Convener of Stirling Council’s Children and Young People Committee, Cllr Susan McGill said: “This is a really important issue for many families across Stirling and I would encourage as many people as possible to come along to the virtual meetings, hear about the proposals and provide feedback. Carrying out this consultation now allows us to plan ahead and ensure continuity of this high-quality provision for pupils in the years to come.”
Around 95% of children with ASN in Stirling are educated in mainstream schools, with 5% requiring smaller class groups with specialist staffing. Projections suggest the current availability of places is not sufficient, with 10 new classes required within the next 10 years.
Three options have been proposed to address this issue:
- Support young people in mainstream schools and use external placements
- One additional central school to meet the increase in need for secondary specialist placements
- Establish additional secondary specialist provision within or alongside current school buildings.
Vice Convener, Cllr Christine Simpson said: “We believe that developing specialist educational settings close to children’s own communities is the best way to achieve additional capacity and meet the needs of pupils with ASN. The online sessions are an opportunity for families to hear more details about the proposals and ask staff any questions so please drop in if you can.”
The consultation is live on the Council’s Engage Stirling platform for people to view, take part in a survey and leave comments until 4 June
