by Communications TEAM | Feb 27, 2025 | announcement, announcementspage, News, Past Issues
Stirling Council have issued this press release on the approval of the council’s 2025-26 budget today.
Links to the budget papers and the recording of the meeting are included in the story.
Stirling Council approves 2025-26 budget
Stirling Council has approved a budget for 2025-26 that addresses a significant budget shortfall, protects key services and delivers major investment towards achieving council priorities.
At a meeting of Council today (27 Feb), councillors agreed the revenue and capital budget for the next financial year, informed by the feedback from the council’s Big Conversation with residents and communities.
The budget gap will be bridged by an 8.8% increase in council tax and a range of savings totalling £7.67 million – policy (£125,000), efficiencies (£5.9 million) and non-recurring (£1.6 million).
This additional revenue will also support the council’s revenue budget which funds the running of day-to-day frontline services such as schools and nurseries, libraries, community centres, waste collections, maintaining the road network, and social work and social care services to protect and support vulnerable people.
A £471,000 investment fund will be created from a portion of the non-recurring savings to support the delivery of the council priorities – decisions on how this will be spent will be taken by the finance, economy and corporate support committee.
Among the savings proposals rejected were the removal of school music tuition and school counselling; the removal of kerbside glass collections and garden waste concessions; a 25% reduction in library services; and a 25% reduction to Stirling’s Citizen’s Advice Bureau.
More than 4,300 people of all ages had their say on the detailed savings proposals and other areas of the budget such as changes to council tax in two surveys in this year’s Big Conversation.
Over £81 million has been allocated for next year’s capital budget – the funding of long-term projects such as new roads, schools and buildings.
A total of £5 million of this will be spent on road infrastructure improvements, with substantial investments in major projects across a wide range of service areas including new schools in Callander and South Stirling Gateway, the flood alleviation scheme in Bridge of Allan and new digital technology for schools.
Specific projects in the programme include the restoration of the Christie Clock over the next two financial years, £800,000 for two new pieces of road machinery and borrowing of £2.17 million to complete the redevelopment of The Peak at Stirling Sports Village.
Stirling Council Leader, Cllr Gerry McGarvey said: “I would like thank everyone who took part in the Big Conversation surveys and for providing such constructive and considered feedback. Be in no doubt – your views have shaped the decisions we have made today.
“Increasing council tax and making further savings, principally efficiencies, has enabled us to set a balanced budget that protects vital frontline services and gives us scope to invest in projects that will drive economic growth and secure a better future for all the people of Stirling.
“This commitment to deliver lasting benefits for our communities is also evident in our wide-ranging capital programme with significant investments in new infrastructure, facilities and equipment that will also support the transformation of our services.
“I would like to express my gratitude to everyone involved in setting this year’s budget and to acknowledge our hard-working and dedicated staff who deliver these services we rely on day-in, day-out, even during extreme weather events such as the recent Storm Eowyn.”
Like many Scottish local authorities, the council faces an unprecedented financial challenge with the budget report listing the main pressures. These include the use of one-off reserves in previous years, pay inflation, rising costs, increasing demand for services and grant allocations.
Almost 79% of the council’s budget comes from a Scottish Government grant and share of the Government’s non-domestic rates or business rates, with the rest raised from council tax.
The report on the council’s budget says that once ring-fenced grants and new funding which come with spending commitments were removed, the council’s core grant allocation from the Scottish Government for 2025-26 only increased by £4.2 million (1.8%) from last year.
The council’s recently approved medium term financial strategy has forecast that its cumulative budget gap will rise to £50.7 million by 2029-30.
Cllr McGarvey continued: “The serious financial pressures on the council and local government as a whole will result in more tough choices in the years ahead. To meet these challenges, we must continue our meaningful conversation with our residents, communities and staff on how we redesign our services and do things better and more efficiently.
“The budget also shows we have lots to look forward to over the coming 12 months with work progressing on transformative projects such as Forthside while the exciting finale celebrations of Stirling’s 900th birthday will take place at the end of March.
“Innovation, creativity and resilience have been associated with Stirling’s communities over the past 900 years and these same strengths will ensure we can overcome challenges and embrace the future with confidence and optimism.”
The budget reports, including the revenue budget and proposed capital programme, as well as the political motions, can be downloaded here.
You can watch a recording of the budget-setting meeting and to find links to the agenda papers on the council’s online broadcasting platform.
More information
For more information, please visit stirling.gov.uk/bigconversation.
by Communications TEAM | Feb 20, 2025 | announcement, announcementspage, News, Past Issues
SSRS have had a reported sighting of a sick squirrel in Bridge of Allan, and have initiated a plan to endeavour to find out more information to determine what the illness was, and hopefully to eliminate squirrelpox.
Please help us with this by following the requests as detailed on this poster.
Primarily
Take in ALL wildlife feeders for 3 weeks.
Disinfect all feeders before restarting their use – Ideally use an antiviral such as Virkon S.
If you see a sick squirrel report it on the SSRS website and try and get a picture.
If you find a dead red squirrel post it using the proper procedure to the Royal Dick in Edinburgh where we can conduct a proper post mortem.
Call SSPCA if you spot a sick squirrel.
All the details are on this poster “Sick Red Squirrels Alert”
by Communications TEAM | Feb 27, 2022 | announcement, Past Issues
A number of residents have raised concerns about the changes for traffic since the new railway crossing barriers were installed on Cornton Road. On some occasions queuing traffic has stopped on the rail tracks. This has been covered recently in the Stirling Observer.
Why was the crossing replaced?
Back in 2017 plans to replace the crossing with a road bridge were objected to by many, including the Community Council.
Cornton Crossing was due for renewal by 2020, and with changes in safety requirements, a like for like replacement was not possible. The barrier work was completed in May 2021 with the aim to increase safety for rail and road passengers. The crossing now includes obstacle detection measures, meaning that in the case of any obstruction the train will not pass through. This safety improvement has come at a cost of increased barrier down time from 38 to 132 seconds on average per train.
Driving over the Crossing
It is very important that when driving this route you do not enter the railway crossing without knowing that your exit is clear. So please be patient and be aware that vehicles in front of you may not move until they are sure they can safely exit the crossing.
The crossing has the latest obstacle detection technology that scans the area of the crossing to ensure that it is clear before trains are permitted to approach. So you are not at risk if you do unfortunately need to stop there.
Impacts on the surrounding roads
Dealing with any impact of the crossing changes on the surrounding road network are the responsibility of Stirling Council. The main impact has been for traffic on the north side of the rail crossing, where with turning vehicles and parked cars around Westerlea drive vehicles may need to wait.
The pinch point by the Westerlea Drive junction was visited by Stirling Council in November after we raised the issue with them. Their response was that at this point the road is 6.4m wide which should allow for 2 way traffic and for HGVs to pass parked cars. The current format and extent of the cycle way/footpath and road junction is required for visibility of pedestrians and cyclists by drivers leaving Westerlea Doad. At that time parking restrictions were not considered necessary. However it was indicated that the situation would continue to be monitored.
The Community Council and Ward Councilors have raised the issue again with Stirling Council to bring recent events to their attention.
What has been your experience?
What has your experience been of living nearby, walking, cycling or driving this route since the crossing changes? Leave a comment or feel free to get in touch via contact@ccbridgeofallan.org.uk
by Communications TEAM | Jan 22, 2022 | announcement, Past Issues
Bridge of Allan Community Council are recruiting. We are looking for two new members to join the Community Council as co-opted members until full elections are held in 2023.
We have been actively working on many different community projects and initiatives, so it is more important than ever that all sections and voices of Bridge of Allan are represented on the Community Council. We are particularly looking for people with skills in communications, social media and web content creation. The role involves keeping up to date with community issues raised, working together to find solutions and helping communicate resident’s views to local organisation such as Stirling Council, Network Rail, developers and businesses. We have 10 meetings a year usually held at the Allan Centre, however at the moment these are held online using Zoom.
To see what we have been working on recently you can look at past meeting minutes and our Facebook page. To find out more about community councils and how they are run see here.
How to Apply
You can put yourself forward if you live in the Bridge of Allan area, are over 16, and are on the electoral register. To nominate yourself you should complete this Co-option Nomination form and return it to contact@ccbridgeofallan.org.uk.
Successful Nominations will then be approved at our next meeting. Although there are only 2 spaces for Co-opted members on the Council, we can also appoint associate members who help us with specific issues such as planning applications, youth events or business for example. See more here about different types of membership.
by Communications TEAM | Jan 4, 2022 | Past Issues, Planning
A new consultation on a range of proposed changes to Henderson Street and Fountain road is available for your consideration and comments. The closing date for comments is midnight on the 9th of January. Find the proposals here: Engage Stirling
Experiences with traffic, speeding, parking, walking and cycling in the village generate many comments, questions and requests to the Community Council. We try and deal with issues as they arise such as reporting potholes or paving defects and requesting increased enforcement. In a more strategic approach we have been involved in a community parking management plan, which has unfortunately been delayed due to the pandemic.
In September we participated in a walk around with Living Streets, elected councillors, Stirling Council representatives from Traffic Management and residents to consider the street lay out for a range of community members and situations such as morning drop off at the primary school. After this a number of locations have been identified for changes or further consideration. These include improving access by installing dropped kerbs and awareness of the need for householders to ensure vegetation from their property does not encroach onto the pavement.
Henderson Street Consultation
Now your views are welcomed on a range of proposals on Henderson Street, which aim to address the concerns of residents about the excessive speeding along this busy route. The proposals have been produced by a working group of Stirling Council officers, Police Scotland and local elected members which included representatives from Bridge of Allan Community Council and from the residents of Henderson Street.
The proposals are for a number of changes to the street layout. This includes pavement build-outs along key stretches of Henderson Street in order to narrow the road sufficiently to encourage drivers to slow down. Formalising of parking areas, changes to bus stop layout, changes to road markings including removal of the centre line in some areas.
The full plans and details can be found on the Engage Stirling Platform. Here you can review the plans and make your comments. Looking at google street view along side the drawing plans is a helpful reminder of the current and past layouts.
The deadline for comments is midnight on the 9th of January to allow the project to progress. The Community Council will be discussing the plans and consultation comments at our meeting on the 16th of January and the team at Stirling Council will take note of concerns raised in our discussion.
The Consultation designs are proposed on 5 pdf documents, these are summarised here:
- Removal of the centre line from Keir Street roundabout to junction with Graham Street, additional formal parking from Lumia to existing double yellows outside 129b.
- Build out of pavement where footpath from Lower Westerton Wood meets Henderson Street, centre line retained over the brow of hill, bus stop layby infilled and bus stops on road.
- Marked parking outside 105 and 108 ,before the junction with Melville place. Parking outside 81-89 up to double yellows and keeping access clear.
- Build out by parking outside flooring studio, outside Lockhart & Taylor footway bus stop infilled.
- There is no drawing 5, this proposal was withdrawn after early discussion.
- New zebra crossing on Fountain road at junction with Keir Street. (Note the layout of co-op will be changing with the store is rebuilt).
by Communications TEAM | Oct 12, 2021 | announcement, Past Issues
We need your help to make Bridge of Allan shine this Christmas!
We love the vibrancy of the village over Christmas, the decorated shop fronts, the Christmas nights out, the carol singing, the Christmas trees and the lights. Sadly, our Christmas lights are in desperate need of refurbishment this year and we need a total of £12,400 to make this happen.
Our wonderful light’s sponsors have doubled their donations this year and we are asking our community to find the remaining £7,000. We have 3 weeks to raise the money so the work can get carried out in time.
There are some rewards available specially designed for our campaign. So come be part of it, donate what you can. Together we can brighten Henderson Street this Christmas.
Download and display a copy of our
poster
