PDE Column, 19th April 2010 – BASF Redundancies, The Lagoon, RAH Parking Charges, Glynhill Anniversary, Wonderful Weather

Wonderful weather

It feels as if summer has arrived, which has helped those of us on the election campaign trail. And I did notice Barshaw Park was jammed packed all last weekend. Yet sadly by Sunday night an appalling amount of litter/picnic leftovers was strewn from the top of the hill right across the park. Hats off to the environmental teams I witnessed as I passed the park at 8am on Monday morning picking up and loading countless black bags as they started early tackling the menace. Come on Buddies, lets do better this summer.

Ciba (BASF) Paisley redundancies

The loss of 232 of the remaining 352 jobs at the Ciba/BASF Paisley plant over the next three years is a real blow to the town and to all the families affected. 

I met with the local plant MD Peter Wormald and also spoke to BASF UK bosses about their plans for Paisley. In Parliament I have been calling for the Scottish Government not just to “wring its hand” but to act in the interests of Paisley’s future local economy. The March budget provided the Scottish Government with an unexpected windfall of £82m. I want part of this to go to re-instating the Glasgow Airport Rail Link which independent commentators estimate would create 1300 much-needed extra jobs in the local economy. I am also pressing all the relevant agencies to work together to keep the site in use as a possible Paisley Innovation Park. 

The Lagoon

I have recently taken up constituents’ concerns about problems at the Lagoon; including items of equipment being of out of commission, poorly maintained, or cleanliness of changing rooms.

I welcome plans to spend £7m extra on the Lagoon before 2014. But I am however concerned that of £92m of investment in new leisure, education and community facilities planned between 2010 and 2014 across Renfrewshire  only £7m (for the Lagoon) is coming to Paisley.  Whilst  monies for new buildings cannot be shared out exactly equally, it is worrying that Paisley with over a third of Renfrewshire’s population is getting only 8% of the new capital investment in the next 4 years.

Parking Charges at RAH

Last year I supported a Bill by my Labour colleague Paul Martin to outlaw hospital car parking charges wherever possible. The Bill failed because not one SNP or Tory MSP would sign it and such a bill requires support from more than one party.

I hope some MSPs in other parties will now we willing to think again. Countless staff at the RAH have been in touch about their fears about the new scheme that will require staff to pay and to move their cars every four hours. It is crazy to expect theatre staff to nip out of life saving operations to move their cars. There are lots of way to manage parking places – like the use of tokens – which can help manage demand at peak times, without making low paid health workers reach into their own pockets for the privilege of doing their job. I am lobbying local Health board bosses to think again.

Congratulations to the Glynhill

Congratulations to the Nicholas family who have run the Glynhill hotel as a family business for 40 years this month. Since its humble beginnings the hotel has grown into a top class venue for weddings, conferences, dinner dances and leisure. The hotel threw a great party – and it was a chance for many of us to say well done to a great local business that has done a lot for local good causes like Accord and Erskine