Thanks to a nomination from Karen of Angels’ Share Glass, Bridge of Allan is a finalist for the UK’s Top Towns for Business by @e_nation and @DellUK. We need your votes to get there, can you help us?
Be sure to vote for Bridge of Allan to win by 17 April and you will also be entered into a prize draw to win a £200 Not on The High Street voucher.
Vote now: https://bit.ly/TopTownsVote
A relatively quite period this month in our police report, however scams remain on the increase and are getting more and more sophisticated.
Forth Valley Police highlighted a couple on their facebook page over the last week that take advantage of people wanting to help those in Ukraine or selling items online. Read to the end to find how you can report scams if you see one.
Advice Direct Scotland, which runs the country’s national consumer advice service highlighted a range of ways fraudsters might seek to target those trying to offer support.
These include donation scams, where attempts are made to lure people in with fake elaborate stories alongside requests for money. The charity warned people to be wary of anyone requesting financial assistance for the burial of a loved one, or from people claiming to be “defending freedom”.
It also urged Scots to be cautious if they receive a request from someone claiming to be stuck in Ukraine or who says they need help with repatriation or travel costs.
Advice Direct Scotland said scammers may also use this opportunity to set up ‘spoof’ websites that look like those of official registered charities and fundraising sites like GoFundMe.
It said anyone who is unsure about a fundraising page, or the charitable efforts of an individual, should consider donating to organisations already providing support in Ukraine like the British Red Cross, the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal, or another registered charity.
Advice Direct Scotland said people should avoid clicking on links in emails or text messages, and avoid pressing any buttons requested by unsolicited callers on the phone, and refrain from transferring money to people they do not know.
If someone has been scammed out of a large sum of money, they should contact Police Scotland on the non-emergency number 101 or dial 999 if they feel threatened or at immediate risk.
Please be aware when selling high value electronic items online.
– Genuine sellers are contacted by scam ‘buyers’ looking to purchase an item. Often a high value mobile phone.
– The ‘buyer’ and seller meet at a location to exchange the goods.
– The ‘buyer’ shows the seller a FAKE image of a payment notice on their phone which fraudulently confirms payment. This could be from a site such as PayPal.
– No money has actually been transferred and the seller has become a victim of fraud
Check you have received payment using your own device prior to handing items over and do not be pressured into giving items without receiving the money.
Learn more about how to avoid becoming a victim of fraud and scams with the Take Five campaign.
Make others aware of scams by reporting them via the Which Scam Sharer Tool, or the Scottish Scam Watch
Call 101 to report fraud or 999 in an emergency.
Our February meeting minutes are now available. Open here using this link.
At the meeting we discussing: The Police Report, Christmas Lights, Tennis Courts, Common Good Fund Application, Recruitment and reports from our Chair, Secretary and Treasurer and our Planning Report
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.
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.
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.
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.
Our next meeting is to be held on Tuesday 15th March at 7.30pm using Zoom. Find the agenda with meeting joining details here . All are welcome to attend.
We will be discussing: The Police Report, Stirling Marathon, Community led Tourism, Tennis Courts, Common Good Fund Application, Recruitment, The Allan Centre, Planning Report, reports from our Chair, Secretary and Treasurer and Residents Voice where you can make your comments or questions.
At this meeting we will review and approve the minutes from our last meeting in February. These will then be available on our website shortly after the meeting to allow for any amendments.
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.
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.
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:
Printed copies of the information are available to view at the Library during its normal opening hours. These will be available until March 21th.
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.
Three in person sessions are available for anyone to drop in.
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.
