November 2009 Update

Progress in the West End

Residents in Clavering Street can look forward to new door entry systems. Door entry systems were raised as a serious concern by residents at my recent West End Public meeting. We followed up with council officials.

As well as new doors in Clavering Street Council officials have also now agreed to survey nearby streets including Well Street to identify other door entry systems for replacement. Following our representations consideration will also be given to the installation of a CCTV dome camera in Clavering Street East/West.

New Renfrew Care Home

I had pleasure in attending the opening of the new Renfrew Elderly Care Home and Day Care Centre in Cocklesloan Renfrew. With 60 en-suite rooms and 40 day centre places it is a great new facility. Renfrew was the last of 3 brand new old people’s homes with two day care centres attached commissioned by the last Labour administration in Renfrewshire. Overall £16million invested in proper care for Renfrewshire’s elderly. The other homes are Montrose House and Day care Centre opened in March 07 and Hunterhill Care Home in January ’08. Both have proved highly successful and I am sure Cocklesloan will be no different.

Knife Text Service

A new Crimestoppers knife-crime text hotline has opened to clamp down on knife carriers.

Anyone can anonymously text information to 88551 on any person who they know is carrying or has used a knife.

I hope that it will go someway to help curb the impact of knife crime. Over 162 Buddies signed my anti-knife crime petition during this summer. Despite efforts to reduce knife crime, there were still over 5000 crimes recorded in Strathclyde involving a knife or offensive weapon in 2008/09.

Planning Reform

Planning problems feature regularly at my surgeries. A new planning Act was passed 3 years ago by the Scottish Labour/Liberal Government. Finally it has being brought into force. The new rules will mean guaranteed “neighbourhood notification” by the local planning department. In the future Neighbour Notifications will be issued by the Council to owners of premises within a 20m radius of any proposed development – and where there are no buildings, details of the planning application will be advertised in local papers.

Renfrewshire has an online Planning Register listing all “live” applications together with supporting plans etc. Details of all planning applications remain on the register until determined. The register can be viewed through the Council’s website. This will save a journey to either the library or the Council HQ to view plans etc.

Paisley Choral Festival 09

This year’s music was wonderful and the organisers, mainly volunteers, deserve a big thank you for their efforts to make the festival such a musical success. If you didn’t get along this year, put it in your diary to look for next autumn!

Paisley Loses Out On Town Centre Cash

In the first round of bidding for the new Town Centre Regeneration Fund, Paisley got (£1.8m) half of what it asked for. In the second round this month it got nothing. Instead Town Centre Regeneration cash went to Oldmeldrum, Macduff, Huntly, Laurencekirk, Nairn, Perth, Lerwick and many other small towns, none of which have the scale of the challenges we face in Paisley.

This is very disappointing at a time when Burger King, Millets, the Co-op in the West End and other well known retailers have announced they are leaving Paisley Town Centre. It was bad enough in the summer when Paisley came ninth in the bids for cash after the likes of Alloa, Dumfries and suburbs of Edinburgh. This time Paisley has lost out entirely.

In the run up to the busy Christmas season it is frustrating to all those local retailers who are striving to draw customers back into the town.

The Council has to now step up. In June it announced £92million on spending on Renfrewshire’s infrastructure. Beyond a feasibility study about the future of the Town Hall and plans for the Lagoon, Paisley Town Centre got none of that £92 million. The Council should restore the £2m needed – to complete vitally needed projects which the Scottish Government rejected, including the conversion of the Littlewoods store, shop front improvements to vacant units, road improvements at Gordon Street, and an Events Shelter at County Square.

Moorpark School closure

The deadline for the Council’s consultation on closing the school was Friday 19th of November. I think it is a mistake not to consult on plans to retain the school. Renfrew is growing from 10000 households to 13000 in coming years – an increase of almost a third. So why cut the number of non-denominational primary schools in the town from 4 to just 3?

Lloyds Group withdraws support from it’s Charity Foundation

News broke that Lloyds Group intends to short change its own charity the Lloyds TSB Foundation.

I obtained figures showing that over the last 18 months, the Lloyds TSB Foundation has awarded over £70,000 to good causes throughout Renfrewshire. This news is a blow to charities throughout Renfrewshire who rely on funding from outside bodies. The Lloyds TSB Foundation has consistently supported Renfrewshire groups and we need this goodwill to continue. Recent local beneficiaries include Renfrewshire Carers, Paisley’s YMCA, Renfrew Old Parish Church, Renfrewshire Carers, and the Healthy Heart project. I will be questioning Lloyds Bank’s senior executives in Parliament on this issue when they come before the Economy Committee.

One local recipient Diane Goodman, manager Renfrewshire Carers Centre said “We were very pleased to receive funding from the Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland and it went towards supporting the volunteer project. This programme recruits volunteers to provide much needed respite for carers. The money we receive over three years is vital in supporting the work of our volunteers.”

Building Missives – safer buying a DVD than a house off plan!

I am campaigning for a change in the law to increase the security of those buying homes off plan. If there is delay after delay you have little legal protection. Delayed building has been a feature of Ferry Village – and prospective buyers have faced real problems.

For example, in October 2007 Ms Amy Finnie, 19, from Middlesex was told by her employer – Coca Cola – that she was to lose her job due to relocation. She decided that she would make a new life for herself in Renfrew and therefore along with her brother put a deposit on a house being built by Millar Homes in Ferry Village Renfrew. At the time of the deposit (£1500) she was told her new home would be ready in October 2008 but delay after delay has arisen. This summer she was told an entry date was November 2009 might be the earliest she could expect – over a year late. Millar Homes offered Amy many excuses such as “the construction company had never built flats of this design and were finding it difficult” and “several of the construction companies they had been using had gone out of business.” This long wait has turned Amy’s life upside down. Finally they are letting her out of the contract to buy the long delayed house – but she has to forfeit the full deposit.

Helen Eadie MSP is attempting to pursue a back bench bill in the Scottish Parliament to right such injustices and she will have my full support.