Videos reflect community response

Stirling Council has issued a community-wide‘thank you’to its residents and staff for their response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

As Scotland paused to reflect on the anniversary of lockdown yesterday (Tuesday, March 23), the council produced two new videos to showcase and praise the efforts displayed by teams and community responders over the past 12 months.

The first features the lengths council teams and community groups have gone to in an effort to protect Stirling’s most vulnerable people, with figures highlighting the work of community resiliency and voluntary groups that worked with the local authority’s care and community teams over the past year.

The second tells the story of how the council’s essential services all adapted after radical changes were implemented by the Scottish and UK

Governments almost overnight.

The flag at the council’s main offices – Old Viewforth – was also lowered to half-mast.

The council’s chief executive Carol Beattie, said:“I don’t think anyone will forget the first few days of lockdown last year, and the uncertainty that spread across the nation as life drastically changed for us all in the blink of an eye.

“The country moved into emergency response mode overnight, and suddenly, the everyday essential services councils deliver like in-school education, libraries or care at home, had to find new ways to operate under strict lockdown rules and guidelines.

“It was the council’s responsibility to respond to this crisis so I’m immensely proud of our reaction and the way our staff have managed to keep key services going in some form or other over the past year.

“The community response to

Covid-19 and the sense of community spirit that’s been evident throughout is also something that should fill us all with great pride and respect, and should be seen as a badge of honour for everyone who lives in the Stirling Council area.

“The last year has also brought untold pain, stress and tragedy into our lives, with the loss of colleagues and loved ones something we’ll never truly get over the lighting up the Wallace Monument yellow to join in with the National Day of Reflection remembers all those we’ve lost.”

The videos are available on the Stirling Council YouTube page and Twitter and Facebook.

The council meanwhile is establishing a cross-party group to look at how the region recovers from the pandemic. A working group made up of senior council officers and elected members will now be established and a member officer group will oversee and help develop recovery spending plans.

It will provide an ongoing assessment of the direct financial impact of the pandemic on Stirling Council’s budget and also identify the cost of recovery plans. The group will report back to the rest of the elected members on its progress.

Ms Beattie told councillors at their recent budget meeting: “The idea of this group is it will be a senior group of staff. This will be a priority for the council and for residents, etc over the next 12 to 18 months as we move into recovery.”

Labour Bannockburn councillor Margaret Brisley said: “I consider this is one of the most vital working groups that we have ever established and its work is critical in ensuring that Stirling is best placed to come out the pandemic in as best a shape as possible.”