PDE Column, 16th November 2009 – Boots, University Success, Rubbish Collections, Parliament, Paisley Choral Festival

Boots

I was delighted to attend the celebration for a new Boots branch in Penilee Road, Ralston. This week Gallowhill gets a new Boots branch from the conversion of its existing chemist. These are the last of 18 local chemist conversions to Boots stores in Renfrewshire and Argyll. We all need to keep using local chemists if we want to keep them in our communities. With concerns about swine flu and winter flu I took the chance to stock up on anti-flu treatments for all the family.

University success

Along with my colleagues Hugh Henry and Trish Godman I recently met Seamus McDaid the Principal of the University of the West of Scotland. At the time of the University’s merger with Bell College many of us were sorry to see the name “Paisley” go from the University’s title. But we were delighted to hear how the new “University of the West of Scotland” is flourishing.
UWS, as the “local” university for a third of Scotland, has a vital economic role. Over £18m has been invested in the last 5 years on renovating and rebuilding properties on the Paisley campus. New planned student residences will help boost the town centre.
I am also keen to see the University get more involved in the wider regeneration of the West End. I hope the council will lend its support to the case for a new West End Development Trust, bringing together the University, Council, Housing associations and local businesses to drive the West End forward. There are important talks underway but we need to step up the pace of improvements in the West End.  I welcome the recent commitment by the Housing Department to install new high specification secure door entry systems in Clavering Street. This is one small, but important, step forward.

What a load of rubbish?

As the festive season approaches my mailbag is bursting with complaints about the new fortnightly bin collection. It was unfortunate that the SNP Administration in the council drove fortnightly collections through with no public consultation.  Even those who support the introduction of fortnightly bin collections say that Good Practice would include a weekly food waste collection scheme. So far this is not being introduced in Renfrewshire. Good Practice advice also says councils considering fortnightly collections should assess if they are suitable for every household, and what services will be offered to those houses that just cannot accommodate an extra third wheelie bin. Finally I think any savings made should be reinvested into recycling services. This is not being done so far in Renfrewshire.
Of course we all want to see an increase in recycling and the Council say fortnightly collections will help achieve better recycling rates but where is the evidence?  I believe – as has been demonstrated in other local authorities such as East Dunbartonshire – that we can improve our recycling rates by encouraging residents to recycle rather than by cutting important council services, like a weekly collection service.

Influencing Parliament

On Saturday 21st November the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament is hosting an event called “Understanding and Influencing Your Parliament”
More information about the conference is on the Parliament’s website at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/vli/outreach/Conference.htm. The aim is to reach those groups who have not engaged with the Parliament before.
And remember, even if the conference is not for you, tours of the Parliament building are now free. So if you are planning a trip to Edinburgh, your organisation might think about a tour of the building. For further details check out the Scottish Parliament website www.scottish.parliament.uk or phone the Parliament’s Visitor Services on 0131 348 5200.

Paisley Choral Festival 09

I was delighted to attend the closing concert of the Paisley Choral Festival 09 at Paisley Abbey. The music was wonderful and the organisers, mainly volunteers, deserve a big thank you for their efforts to make the whole festival such a musical success.