BALFRON COMMUNITY COUNCIL NEWS
Balfron Community Council Meetings
All Balfron Community Council meetings will be held remotely online for the foreseeable future due to the Coronavirus. We will continue to keep you informed via this website, our Facebook page and via the Balfron Community Resilience page. We will also share information on our 2 noticeboards in the village. If you have an issue you want raised at our online meeting, you can contact us via the Facebook page or by emailing us at hello@balfroncc.org.uk
Coronavirus – Support and Information
Local Support Available
If you are self isolating or need support if you have to self-isolate any time in the future, there is a group of Balfron volunteers who are happy to help with errands such as shopping, dog walking, urgent supplies and posting mail (for free). Please call Michelle Conway on 07540 667260 if you need assistance or if you want to join the local volunteer group.
Want to know more on how to deliver goods safely to someone who is self isolating? Here’s a useful guide.
Stirling Council Community Support Available
You can also contact Stirling Council if you are vulnerable, know of somebody who is vulnerable, self-isolating and has no immediate support available on 01786 404040 or email communitysupport@stirling.gov.uk. They will be contacted and one of our Local Co-ordination Teams will look at the most appropriate way of getting support to them, through the local Community Response Groups, Third Sector organisations, a local volunteer or more formal support if they require it. General information on local services is available on the Council website and advice on Covid-19 is available on the Government and NHS websites. People can still volunteer to support this effort through the www.investinstirling.com/key-sectors/volunteering site.
Balfron Resilience Group
Keep up to date with the latest local information about the Coronavirus on the Balfron Community Resilience Facebook page. Balfron has its own resilience plan, and the volunteers behind the plan are now working closely with Stirling Council to ensure our village needs are understood, and what we as a community can do to support Stirling Council to ensure the most vulnerable are looked after.
In other news … Balfron Bank of Scotland Closure
We continue with our campaign to get the Bank of Scotland to reconsider their decision to close the Balfron branch on 17 August 2020. We feel that the alternatives being offered are totally inadequate to the needs, not just of Balfron, but of all the communities of West Stirlingshire. In response to the letters written by the Community Council, Lloyds Banking Group have confirmed that the Balfron Bank of Scotland branch would remain open for the duration of the current crisis. This may possibly extend beyond the suggested branch closure date.
Please continue to share our online petition as widely as possible – we have had over 1,300 signatures on our petitions to date and our elected Councillors, MPs and MSPs are all actively supporting our campaign. And please add your comments and concerns to our Facebook page.
A Space for Living – Latest Update
Work on our Space for Living project has been suspended as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak. Please see this message from the Balfron Active Places project manager at Stirling Council:
“First of all we would appreciate you passing on our sincere thanks to the community for taking the time to work with our consultants to develop detailed proposals for the five key sites within Balfron – Printers Row, The Clachan, Buchanan Street North, Buchanan Street South and Station Road, as well as the area wide Active Travel Strategy.
Due to Covid-19 instructions we are unable to display hardcopies of the proposals, Active Travel Strategy and consultation report, we have therefore uploaded all this information onto the Balfron CommonPlaces website, which can be found here: https://balfronactiveplacesproposals.commonplace.is/
During the financial year 2020/21 (1st April 2020 – 31st March 2021) we will be taking forward The Clachan and Printers Row final designs to construction, dependent on Covid-19 instructions.
As part of this pre construction work we will be advertising the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO), which is the legal process that must be followed prior to making any changes to the public highway.
The advertisement will be live from Friday 3rd April 2020. If you, or any member of the community, would like to comment during the statutory three-week consultation on this TRO, please click on this link for more information: https://www.stirling.gov.uk/…/road…/road-regulations-limits/“
Community Council Meetings
We meet every month (except January and July) and our next meeting is:
Community Council MeetingRemote online meetingPlease send your resident’s questions to hello@balfroncc.org.uk |
About Us
The Community Council is a body consisting of local residents, who meet on a monthly basis to discuss and progress issues affecting the local community, and represent the views and concerns of the Balfron residents to Stirling Council and other relevant groups.
Members
- Colin Cameron, Chair
- Robert Young, Vice Chair
- Bill Noblett, Treasurer
- Christine Wilson, Secretary
- John Nicholson, Planning
- Fraser Allan
- Laura Elder
- Alison Lamont Chalmers
- David McGowan
- Luci Rooney
- Our Minute-Taker is Carsten Mandt
Recent Posts
Here's a link to the Minutes from our May 'virtual' meeting: balfroncc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/BCC-2020-05-05-Minutes-draft-v2.pdf
Our next one is on Tuesday 2nd June and you can raise any issues either by messaging us here or to hello@balfroncc.org.uk. We would normally be holding our AGM at the June meeting, but have been advised to postpone this until we can meet in person.
Balfron Community Council will be holding its next 'virtual' meeting on Tuesday 5th May. While the main topic on the agenda will be our response to the Covid-19 pandemic, you are welcome to raise any other matters you wish discussed by messaging our Facebook page or emailing us at hello@balfroncc.org.uk.
The Loch Lomond Fisheries Trust is going to be working within the Blane valley over the next five months carrying out treatment work on 3 Invasive Non-Native plants: giant hogweed, Japanese knotweed and American Skunk cabbage. They are treating all three plant species because they outcompete our native plant species, contribute to river bank erosion and damage local habitats. This is a particular concern for native fish species such as Atlantic salmon and lamprey. Giant hogweed is also a hazard to people if they come into contact with the plants sap which can cause skin to severely blister when exposed to UV rays. We recommend that you contact the Trust if you are concerned about its presence.
They have adopted protocols to keep staff, local communities and the NHS safe during the covid-19 pandemic. All staff will travel separately to each site, maintain social distancing and will be wearing compulsory PPE equipment during spraying operations. Staff have also been asked not to use any local facilities. Since the Blane valley is popular for exercise purposes, especially along the West Highland Way routes, please be aware of their work and maintain social distancing with their staff who will be identifiable by high-vis vests or by white, green or blue chemical suits. Their vehicles will have a leaflet on the window with information if you wish to get in touch. They also recommend that dog walkers keep dogs on leads if you see them or weed spraying signs.
If you wish to report sightings of these plants within the Endrick Water and Blane Water catchment areas, please contact them via their FB page or email info@llft.org.uk.
Identification sheets for the three invasive plants species can be found on Balfron Community Council website.
I have had an email from the Group Executive Complaints department of Lloyds bank (owner of Bank of Scotland) stating that the decision has been taken not to permanently close the Balfron branch "during this challenging time". While that is welcome, I have written asking what their definition of the duration of the "challenging time" might be - hopefully at least to push it beyond 17 August and enable us to engage them in more dialogue.
Keep Scotland Beautiful is running a #TurdTag campaign starting this week. If you want to help log the level of dog poo across Balfron, here's their information:
Have you seen an increase in bagged or unbagged dog poo in your neighbourhood? As part of your daily exercise, and in accordance to Government guidance, why not take part in #TurdTag and help us understand dog fouling levels in your neighbourhood. Over the two weeks of #TurdTag we want to encourage as many people as possible to feed in data on the number of dog poos they're finding near them. All you need to do is:
1. Select a 100m stretch to use as a transect.
2. When out on your walk as part of your daily exercise, count the number of bagged or unbagged dog poos you see (and why not take a photo?)
3. Post your #turdtag on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram tagging @CleanUpScotland or @KSBScotland
4. Repeat – why not choose a different stretch to log the poos you find?
5. Email your results at the end of the fortnight, including your location and local authority to cleanup@keepscotlandbeautiful.org
In May we will collate all the data you send us to create a snapshot of the scale of the problem across Scotland.
www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/local-environmental-quality/clean-up-scotland/do-your-bit-to-clean-...
#TurdTag - information on how to take part
www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org
Help us collect data of in incidents of dog fouling in your neighbourhood by getting involved in #TurdTag.