Chairman’s Report March 2021

Cllr Nicolson’s Report

It was good to see that the leader of the council has sent all of the CC’s an update on this year’s council budget. I for one think that this should be done every year no matter who is in office. Like his predecessor Cllr Nicolson has also attended a meeting of the Renfrewshire Community Council Forum (RCCF) to hear from its representatives what they see as the main problems in their areas. I hope that this form of report to the CC’s will continue as a standard in the future.

Covid-19

While the vaccination rollout is continuing the message to all must still be observe which ever regulations are in place at all times. Cllr Nicolson’s report also touched on the fight against Covid-19 and pointed out that there is now a light at the end of the tunnel which is news that everyone wants to hear. However, let’s hope people don’t become complacent as the length of the tunnel may be dependent on the actions of the individual, and while we may well see a light at the end of the tunnel it may well take us a while longer to emerge into it if people do not adhere to the rules that are in place.

11 Walkinshaw Street Retrospective Planning Application

The building in question is currently in use by Always Included and from our investigations it looks as though this permission has been applied for by the owner of the building through the estate agent they have engaged to try and sell the building,

The responses from the CC’s membership backed the idea of having a day care facility in the town however, there were also concerns raised as to the volume of traffic at times on the street. Basically, the only grounds the CC would have to lodge an objection would be on traffic problems during drop off and collection times. However, as there is an ongoing consultation on into traffic in the Walkinshaw Street area that the CC has made a submission to it may be best for us to leave it to the consultation process at this time. If as a membership you disagree with this recommendation, please let the committee know.

Tenants and Residents Groups

As you may have seen a new Tennant and Residents Association has been set up in the Howwood Road Scheme. As someone who spent the first half of my life in this area, I see this as a very positive step. I have contacted the council to try and get a list of all registered T &RA’s that are currently active in the town with the hope that we can speak with their representatives about their concerns and to encourage them to engage with us and the council through our Liaison Group meetings.

Thomas Wallace

Chairman JCC