Lochwinnoch Arts Festival

The Swings - Outdoor Performance

Come and enter our world and playground of The Swings. A giant swing set, 5m high and 2 swings, with 2 aerial artists who use the Swings as their aerial apparatus to fl y high and appear throughout the day. The Swings will be open at various times for anyone to come and join in. Feel the rush of air pass your face, as you swing higher and higher. An interactive event for all the family. If restrictions allow we’ll be in Lochwinnoch in 2021, fi ngers crossed! Outdoor Art Installation at Castle Semple

The ethos of the village and the work of the Arts Festival is a natural “fi t” with Renfrewshire Council’s Great Place scheme. The scheme aims to promote an area’s heritage and culture, and to develop suitable places as “cultural destinations”. Lochwinnoch Arts Festival Committee, Castle Semple County Park and Sustrans have partnered up to ensure that Lochwinnoch stays fi rmly on the map as a popular and memorable visitor attraction. Working with the community we will be commissioning and delivering a new sustainable outdoor art installation at Castle Semple. To keep up to date with what’s happening go to: facebook.com/ groups/LochinnowchArtsFestival

We continue to meet via Zoom on Tuesday and Friday afternoons at 2.30pm with a full programme of interesting topics, many lighthearted. We enjoyed our own speaker on Charles Darwin, with members of local groups joining us. The National Organiser has arranged a great variety of speakers each Thursday evening and a fortnight of events towards the end of April. If you would like to fi nd out more about the national group, please visit the website: www.nwr.org.uk or for information about joining the Kilbarchan group, please telephone Fiona on 01505 348627.

At the time of going to print, the timescale for easing of Covid restrictions was fl uid, with some prospects of an accelerated return to the “tiered” system. We intend to resume worship in church when Renfrewshire moves to tier 3 and hope that this may provide the opportunity to conduct services during Holy Week. The restrictions mean that numbers able to attend will be limited and those intending to worship will need to use the booking system. Full details will be posted on our website: www.kilbarchankirk.org Our regular Sunday Refl ections will continue and can be found via our website, on our Facebook page and on Youtube. You can also access the Refl ections by telephone on 01505 805893.

March 8th was International Women’s day. International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. We felt it appropriate to mark the day with a donation of £200 to Womankind, an international charity focussed on ending violence against women and girls, advancing women’s economic rights and strengthening women’s political participation and leadership. Womankind (https://www.womankind.org.uk/) is currently working with its partners in a number of African countries and in Nepal. In Ethiopia for example they are working to end the most prevalent forms of violence against women and girls including child marriage, female genital mutilation and domestic abuse. In Nepal they are working to address caste based discrimination. Lower caste Dalit women for example experience more violence and discrimination than women of other castes. Quoting from their website £100 could help provide a marginalised woman in Nepal with funding to start her own Business. £55 could contribute to training a teacher on how to protect the rights of young female students. On Tuesday 20th April we will be hosting a talk by Aron Eales of Strathclyde University. He will be sharing his experiences of work to provide small scale solar PV systems in Malawi. You can register for the talk by visiting the Lochwinnoch International Aid & Fairtrade Facebook page. During the recent Fairtrade fortnight a range of online events took place. One event which a number of us attended was a coffee tasting experience. Samples were sent out beforehand and we were able to savour the coffee whilst watching a coffee tasting demonstration and also an interview with the producer. The coffee was from the Sholi co-operative in Rwanda. One message that came through strongly was the importance of the Fairtrade guaranteed minimum price. Coffee prices fl uctuate markedly on the international markets and the guaranteed minimum means that small farmers can weather the troughs. One of our members, Mary Alice also posted a cookery demonstration on our Facebook page. She conjured up a delicious kedgeree incorporating Fairtrade Kilombero rice from Malawi. Our 90 kilo Kilombero rice challenge continues and bags are still available in the Heritage Farmers Market at £3.75 per kg. Alternatively you can ring the number below. We are still unable to resume any fundraising events but we continue to receive money via our regular monthly subscription scheme and we are always ready to welcome new members. Individual donations are also welcome. Get in touch through lochintaid@gmail.com or telephone 07702 544868.

Budget: Renfrewshire Council’s budget was set on the 4th March. Council Tax will be frozen for the coming year. Among the decisions taken Renfrewshire schools, and mental health and adult care services will see investment along with support to young carers. Locally there will be investment in Clyde Muirsheil Park, which will involve tree works and pathway clearance. There will also be funding for traffi c reduction studies in our villages designed to bring about safer walking routes. I would have wanted this to go further in terms of identifying specifi c traffi c calming measures, as the blight of speeding and other issues continues to affect the lives of everyone in our local communities. CoVid-19: One of the very few positives resulting from the Covid pandemic has been the increased patronage to local shops and businesses, as advocated in the Advertizer over the last 12 months and beyond. It was therefore with some considerable dismay, that the residents of Lochwinnoch learned of the proposal to end the provision of post offi ce services at the local Spar store from the middle of March. This was a nonsensical decision, given that we are still in the throes of the pandemic, and one which would require villagers to travel to access these services. Fortunately, and following strong local opposition, this planned closure has been put on hold, pending discussions on how post offi ce services can best meet the needs of the local community. There seems little doubt that retaining them in their present location is the best way forward. Another consequence of the pandemic has been the closure of our cultural and heritage sites and facilities. The future of the Weavers Cottage has been raised with me by some Kilbarchan constituents. I contacted National Trust Scotland to seek reassurance regarding plans for its reopening. Although the cottage will not reopen this year the plan is that normal service will be restored in 2022. ContaCt: In common with other councillors, I am currently not holding face to face advice surgeries. cllr.derek.bibby@renfrewshire.gov.uk / 0300 300 1274 or 07534 156007 local community, local life ............... 24 Cllr Bill Binks

I do hope you are all coping with the current situation and that family and loved ones will soon be able to meet up once again. planning: The main topics under discussion in Ward 9 are planning related. I have received several complaints in relation to the Reporters comments and decisions on the Local Development Plan (LDP) for Renfrewshire. The most verbal being from residents of Lochwinnoch. By the time you read this the Planning Board will have made their decisions. However, before making any recommendation they should heed the comment by the reporter in the summing up on page 349, paragraph 17 and I quote: ‘The consideration of any planning application and proposed layout and fi nal number of housing units would be a matter for the planning authority’. In other words, the fi nal say on whether to build or not to build is down to the Planning Board of Renfrewshire Council. One fi nal word on the subject. How can the reporter justify allowing development on a green belt site in Lochwinnoch and yet refuse a planning application submitted to the Planning Board to build on land at the Golf Driving Range, Rannoch Road, Johnstone which was designated a brown fi eld site back in 2019? As members of the Communities, Housing and Planning Policy Board we do not have to adopt the recommendations, but can apply our own modifi cations to the proposed LDP. A precedent which has been set by West Dunbartonshire Council in their refusal to accept the Reporters revised plan. roads: I met up with a local resident in Howwood and an offi cer from the Councils Roads department to look at the junction of Midton Road and Beith Road at West Corseford. There have been many accidents at this junction over the years all caused by excessive speeding. We discussed the putting up of chevron barriers, to reconfi guration of the road and more warning signs. Reducing the current speed limit from 60mph to 40mph is already in the pipeline for implementation. I did also mention that the electronic 30mph signs either end of the village were not working. This again is in hand but delayed because of the virus situation as the engineers have to travel from England to complete the works. hoWWood plaYparK: It’s good to see that the Friends of Howwood Playpark have secured a ten-year lease from the Council for the use of the old changing rooms in the park. They are now actively looking for funds to regenerate the building. ContaCt: cllr.bill.binks@renfrewshire.gov.uk / 0300 300 1423 or 07976 239949

2021/22 Budget: Renfrewshire Council’s 2021/22 budget was passed last month, incorporating significant investment for my ward. I am pleased to report that the Budget included new monies to upgrade and refurbish the kitchens in Howwood Village Hall. I also requested more money for priority road markings to put in new safety features at the notorious Bowfield Country Club junction which has been the scene of many accidents. There will also be a clean out of the gullies in Bowfield Road and the resurfacing of George Street. This represents the biggest tranche of council investment in Howwood for many decades. roads: Many constituents over the last year in Kilbarchan, Howwood, and Lochwinnoch, have contacted me in relation to increased speeding through the villages, and the risk this causes. Accordingly the Rural Safe Walking Initiative will look at a range of anti-speeding measures, from speedbumps to chicanes, and consult with local communities as to the best way forward. Kilbarchan will be one of the first villages where the Initiative will be piloted, as there have been several speeding incidents in the village over the last four months. sChools: There will also be new monies to establish a new Schools Infrastructure Fund which will see a new Thorn Primary built in the Johnstone North part of my ward, as well as an upgrade for the playgrounds at both St Margaret Primary in Johnstone and Lochwinnoch Primary. There will further be an examination of the drainage issues at Howwood Primary School playground with remedial action planned. ContaCt: Councillors are not at the moment having face to face surgeries due to the Covid 19 restrictions. cllr.andy.doig@renfrewshire.gov.uk / 07534 148224 facebook Independent Voice/Ward9JohnstoneAndVillages twitter @CllrAndy4Ward8

local community, local life ............... 26