Huge potential of City Region Deal
Last week, I attended an event agreeing the heads of terms on the Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Region Deal.This exciting initiative will see the local area receive £50.1 million in total from the Scottish Government and £45.1 million from the UK Government to deliver the best outcomes for the city region, delivering transformative and inclusive growth.
Projects include, the creation of a new International Environment Centre which will draw together academic expertise from across Scotland, the UK and the world; new and improved ActiveTravel routes through the City Region Deal; a new Aquaculture Innovation Hub, which will be unique in the UK; and up to £15 million to develop and augment key economic assets in culture, heritage and tourism.
These projects have the potential to deliver further growth through leverage of private sector investment of £175 million and delivering more than 5000 new jobs for the region.The benefits of this investment will be felt across the area due to the positive economic growth this major initiative will generate.
This will complement other investment being made in the local area.The programme of electrifying and enhancing rail services serving Bridge of Allan and Dunblane is well underway, and although this will regrettably cause some interruptions to services whilst the work is completed, over the longer term this significant programme of investment by the Scottish Government will greatly improve services in terms of faster journey times, reduced noise and it will deliver considerable environmental benefits.
I recently met with representatives of Dunblane Community Council and Alex Hynds, the managing director of the ScotRail Alliance in Dunblane, to discuss a range of rail-related issues affecting the town. This was a very productive meeting and I look forward to some positive outcomes. I also took the opportunity to discuss other issues affecting local customers including, congested carriages, the practice of skipping stops and parking facilities at local railway stations.
I received assurances that one of the benefits of the huge programme of investment in our rail infrastructure will be the introduction of a new generation of trains that will address the problem of routine overcrowding on some services. In terms of parking at Bridge of Allan station, I have asked for consideration to be given to extend the car park into the current works compound once all the electrification works are finished investment which would increase capacity and benefit local customers.
I am grateful to theTrading Standards team at Stirling Council for joining me recently in Bridge of Allan for the latest in a series of surgeries I have held across the constituencyoffering advice to people being targeted by nuisance calls. I know that nuisance calls often target the elderly and vulnerable and have the potential to be very harmful, causing anxiety and distress. I have previously announced an action plan on the issue, with measures including a £50,000 fund to install call-blocking technology for those most at risk from nuisance calls. A number of these devices have now been installed across the local area.
I also welcome the announcement that proposals put forward by the SNP to combat this practice of relentless unsolicited nuisance calls are to be implemented by the UK Government. The bosses of firms which bombard people with nuisance calls could now be fined up to £500,000 under proposals which will make them personally liable. At the moment, only the companies themselves are liable for fines of up to £500,000 if they break the law. I sincerely hope this action will lead to a crackdown on the irresponsible companies who perpetrate this obnoxious and irritating practice.