Latest news with #DumfriesGalloway
BBC News
a day ago
- General
- BBC News
'Adored' grandmother named as victim of A75 crash at Auchenlarie
A grieving family has said their lives have been forever changed by the death of their grandmother, who was injured in a car crash in the south of Molloy, 76, was a passenger in a Suzuki Ignis that crashed with a Peugeot van on the A75 at Auchenlarie at about 11:20 on was taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow where she later a statement released through Police Scotland, her family said they would miss her "every single day". It said: "Judith was an adored wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother and she leaves behind family and many friends whose lives will never be the same."The driver and passenger of the van were taken to Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary and have since been discharged. The driver of the car was not Luke Bell said police were still looking for witnesses to the crash and urged anyone with information to contact the non-emergency line.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Fate of new Galloway national park proposals to be revealed
The fate of plans to create Scotland's third national park in Galloway are set to be revealed in a Holyrood proposals - which could see the area join the Cairngorms and Loch Lomond and the Trossachs - have proved Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon will update MSPs following a consultation carried out by and opponents of the plans are waiting to hear if they will move forward, be dropped or deferred until the next parliamentary session. How did we get here? Scotland currently has two national parks but it is more than 20 years since a new one was created.A power-sharing deal between the SNP and the Scottish Greens in 2021 agreed that "at least one" would be designated by the end of this parliamentary session in that political agreement collapsed in 2024, the national park process has started in 2022 on where the park could be sited and Galloway was announced as the potential location for a new national park in July last after an opposition campaign was launched and an extended consultation was carried out over 14 has delivered its report on that feedback to the Scottish government which is now to decide the way scheme - should it proceed - would mainly be in Dumfries and Galloway but would extend into parts of Ayrshire. For and against Campaigners in favour of the designation say it could put the region on the map and boost the local opponents have argued it would push up house prices, increase bureaucracy and put transport infrastructure under have been waiting to hear the latest announcement from the Scottish Galloway National Park campaign co-founder Elizabeth Hitschmann said they could not speculate what would be in the statement. However, she said the whole idea had been a "complete dog's breakfast from the start" in which a "very small group of unrepresentative activists wrongly claimed there was overwhelming support".She said people in Galloway had "no faith" in any stage of the process including the selection of the area, consultation and the rejection of calls for a referendum and a review of the existing Hitschmann added: "The strength of opposition to any form of national park in Galloway is so great that we think it would be madness for any party to impose something that so many people clearly don't want."It would certainly be a wise decision to call a halt now before any more time and public money is wasted." But Rob Lucas, who chairs of the Galloway National Park Association, called for the designation to be given to a "forgotten corner" of Scotland without delay."Galloway desperately needs a national park to give it the long-term certainty and commitment that has been missing for so long," he said."Our area has a fragile economy and remains among the poorest rural areas in the UK, despite two decades of intensive forestry, farm aggregation and large-scale renewables."We need a different approach that works with nature to build a resilient and sustainable future for local people."That call has been backed by Action to Protect Rural Scotland and the Scottish Campaign for National a designation order was issued that would trigger another round of consultation before the status is earliest that could happen would be spring 2026.
Daily Mail
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Police make 33 arrests in cross-border crackdown on 'illegal migrants and people smugglers' in Northern Ireland
More than 30 people have been arrested and £17,000 of suspected criminal assets seized in a people-smuggling crackdown in Northern Ireland. A lorry related to an unpaid penalty notice over stowaways, worth £144,000, was also confiscated by officers. The arrests of 33 illegal migrants and suspected people smugglers were part of a three-day operation to tackle criminals exploiting the common travel area (CTA) at ports and airports in Northern Ireland, north-west England and Wales. Pictures show stacks of cash and officers seizing the lorry, while footage from Belfast International Airport shows a traveller with a suitcase being taken into the back of a police van. It is the sixth operation of its kind, working between the Police Service of North Ireland, An Garda Siochana, the National Crime Agency, other UK police forces, Border Force and international partners. The Home Office said 60 arrests have been made and more than £405,000 of criminal cash seized, over abuse of the CTA, since Labour took power in July last year. Routes from the island of Ireland to the UK mainland have long been feared to be susceptible to people smuggling due to minimal border controls in the zone. Last year, 14 Albanians were found hiding inside a livestock wagon that had travelled into the British mainland from Northern Ireland. Officials confirmed the arrest was made at Loch Ryan ferry port in Dumfries and Galloway, 80 miles south of Glasgow. Illegal migrants are also known to have exploited the lack of a hard border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Home Office immigration enforcement deputy director Ben Thomas said: 'Criminal networks seek to bypass robust border checks through fraudulent means and trap vulnerable people into further illegal activities. 'The success of this operation marks a significant step up in enforcement activity, leading to the arrest of 33 criminals who attempted to abuse the common travel area and undermine the UK's border security.' Border security minister Dame Angela Eagle added: 'This Government is using every tool at its disposal to take down the criminal gangs who exploit vulnerable people in order to make quick cash.' Arrivals on the more high-profile illegal migration route across the Channel have topped 12,000 – an increase of 40 per cent on 2024. A total of 13 boats carrying 825 migrants made the treacherous journey across the Channel on Wednesday - with at least two people dying on one of the crossings. The Home Office confirmed there were 825 arrivals on Wednesday, bringing the total since the general election to 36,811, and a year-on-year increase of 37 per cent.
BBC News
16-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Fire crews called out to derelict Dumfries factory site
Fire crews have been called out to a derelict factory in the south of Scotland said it was assisting the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service with the incident at the old Interfloor site on the outskirts of Dumfries at about 14: asked the public to stay away from the area while it was made are no reports of any injuries and anyone who saw anything suspicious has been asked to contact police. Dumfries and Galloway Council is currently seeking someone to work with it on the redevelopment of the long-term eyesore was recently declared ownerless which allowed the local authority to express an interest in taking it council stressed it would act as a "facilitator" for others rather than taking on long-term could allow the regeneration of the area where there have been repeated calls to demolish the building on safety grounds and due to its visual impact.
