village news

village news ward 1 - inverclyde Cllr David Wilson

PARKING: The Council has consulted on having 3 hours free parking in the Lochwinnoch Road Memorial on the 8th and the two minutes silence observed in the

car park and a charge of £2 for over 3 hours and consequently at a packed St Columba’s was exemplary. The Bishop conducted

all day. A Residents’ parking scheme is proposed for tenement flats in Lochwinnoch and Bridge of Weir roads. I have campaigned that Moss Road tenements should also have Resident parking permits. Parking in Moss and Gillburn Roads can be difficult and I have been approached by several residents experiencing problems. Notwithstanding the above, I do not believe we should make any changes until the matter of long term car parking is resolved i.e. site in Gillburn Road or behind the Old Police Station. KNAPPS: There is to be substantial tree planting at Knapps Loch. Work will happen in 2021 and involve Oak, Hazel, Poplar, Norway Spruce on lower soils and Sitka Spruce on the upland areas. We are assured that the proposals will ensure that public access to the Knapps will be protected and open ground used for the main agricultural show ground will be protected. Unfortunately the light horse cross country course will be lost. The girls who have established the Kilmacolm and Port Glasgow Agricultural Show as a serious venue for light horse will be devastated. The area for the bonfire has been omitted from planting but unfortunately due to PLANNING: We are consulting on a new Local Development Plan. As part of the Main Issues Report we asked for housing sites. I understand all the usual suspects are back in play. As I write there is no news on the Carsemeadow Gladman/Quarriers application. REMEMBRANCE: A short Remembrance service was held at the Cargill on the 11th. Wreaths were laid throughout the Sunday by many village organisations. CHURCH AMALGAMATION: Discussions continue on the amalgamation of the Old Kirk and St Columba’s Churches. We understand the manse will be in Glencairn Road. The Episcopal Church in Kilmacolm and Port Glasgow has lost Reverends Gonzales and Gifford. The latter did a tremendous job at St Mary’s in Port Glasgow. His monthly Clydemen get together of 70 men to celebrate the history of shipbuilding was a fine occasion with excellent speakers. His conduct of Sir Eric Yarrow’s funeral service

Covid 19 it could not take place this year. the funeral service for Canon William McDade who gave St Colm’s years of service. GENERAL NEWS: I will really miss my many school and church functions this Christmas but wish all my constituents a happy and safe festive season. STOP PRESS: Branchal Milk have launched fresh local farm milk every Tuesday and Friday in the village at the Cargill. CONTACT: I can be contacted on david.wilson@inverclyde.gov.uk 01475 741969, 712975 and 07766 992294.

Kilmacolm Community Cleanup

Well done to all the community minded folks who turned out to pick up litter in and around Kilmacolm. They were: Marion and Morven Armour, Councillor David Wilson, Andrew Brewer, John Hunter, Ken McLaren, Liz Reid, Lisa Griffin, Joyce Jefferis, David Goddard and Mike Jefferis. We covered the cycle track to Port Glasgow, the cycle track to Bridge of Weir, Smithy Brae, Blacksholm Road, Old Greenock Road and Ducal/ Milton Woods. A total of 22 bags of rubbish were collected and the place certainly looks a lot better for it.

The Bridge

63 Main Street, Bridge of Weir, PA11 3NR www.thebridgebridgeofweir.com Happy New Year to our customers, volunteers and employees. Thank you for using the Post Office and related Shop during challenging times throughout most of 2020. During the ongoing pandemic we appreciate the support of our customers in adhering to the guidelines in respect of social distancing, which inevitably leads to queues, in mask wearing and hand sanitising all of which helps to keep everyone as safe as possible. We hope to have the Community Centre up and running at some point during 2021. In the meantime we continue to issue Hearing Aid batteries in place of the usual Hearing Aid Clinic. Please ask our volunteers for information. The Shop - throughout the year we are continually reviewing our stock of cards and introducing new designs to ensure our extensive selection of Greetings Cards is maintained. The Bridge is the go-to place to buy your essential stationery items, postcards of your local area and pocket money toys. As we enter another year we extend a ‘Thank You’ to our team of dedicated volunteers as without them The Bridge could not operate. (Opening Hours: Mon 10am - 1pm and 2pm - 5pm; Tues to Sat – 10am - 1pm)

Bridge of Weir CC Press Report

Although the Community Council has not met since our last meeting on 3rd March the work has continued throughout this time. PLANNING: Planning in Scotland has been a hot topic of late after a recent successful appeal of a planning decision at Quarriers Village at the Court of Session. On the back of this appeal we have responded to the recent Scottish Government consultation on changes to the ‘Presumption in Favour’ (as part of national planning policy). The Community Council was unanimously in favour of the proposed changes that will hopefully make speculative developments harder to progress. CHRISTMAS LIGHTS: Currently a ban on mass gatherings is in place across Scotland and when lifted it is expected that restrictions will remain in place for some time, including physical distancing measures and advice to avoid crowded places. This has resulted in the Community Council cancelling our annual Christmas Lights Switch on Event, our application for funding to Renfrewshire Council was also withdrawn. PRIZEGIVING: The Community Council were delighted to finally arrange for the presentation of prizes for last year’s design a Christmas Light feature. Due to the lockdown the presentation to the pupils at Bridge of Weir Primary School was held over till October. The winning entry “The Reindeer” designed by Eloise McClymont has been purchased and will be the main feature of this years display, the runners up were The Penguin designed by Sarah Finan and The Bells by Dylan Macalroy. The Judges were overwhelmed by the high standard of entries. Principal teacher Vhari Duncan was delighted with the prizes which were large picture frames of the Blanchere engineers final design. The Community Council look forward to further engagement with the Primary School. PLAY PARKS: Following a successful grant application to Renfrewshire Council by the Community Council, work has begun to install more play equipment in Bridge of Weir playparks. A generous bequest from a local resident made it possible to increase the number of play items that could be purchased. New equipment suitable for a younger age group has been installed in the Horsewood Road Park, to be followed by additions to the Moss Road Playpark over the coming months. ROADS: Road surfaces in Bridge of Weir are being resurfaced and junction white lines are being reinstated. Grass has been cut short for the winter and litter patrols will continue to litter pick. Brighter Bridge of Weir have been planting out. The broken sleeper at the bridge in the Glen has been repaired and decked with chicken wire making it non-slip and walker safe. GENERAL NEWS: As we have done throughout this pandemic the Community Council will endeavour to keep the public informed and updated through their Facebook Page. Take care and stay safe.

Lochwinnoch International Aid

Back in September our article included a piece on one of the small charities we have regularly supported which is based in Morogoro Tanzania and run by a remarkable woman called Josephine Bahkita. She works mainly with disabled children and their families. Recently Josephine has written about one of the children they have helped and continue to help whom she calls THE MIRACLE BOY.

Joel Yona has been looked after by Josephine for over ten years. The story of Joel is special. He is a Masai with severe cerebral palsy and was being cared for by his grandmother who was going blind. He would have died if Josephine hadn’t taken him in to live with her. Whilst he remains severely disabled he is otherwise healthy, enjoys music and has a wonderful broad smile. There is also a special story behind the chair he is sitting in. It was purpose made using APT (Appropriate Paper based Technology). The technology uses affordable materials (waste cardboard and paper) allowing bespoke furniture and aids to be made locally. LIA funded a training project in Morogoro on APT and the chair was made as part of this. Josephine, who had a disabled child of her own, is from a poor family but was given help to pay for her secondary education. She went on to train as a social worker. She feels strongly about girl’s education and has found sponsorship for many over the years 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 of our planned fundraising activities 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.

WARD 11 Cllr James Maclaren

Whoo Hoo, good news at last, an end to this pandemic is in sight. Of course, it will be a while before we all get the vaccine we need but good news none the less and a nice Christmas present. Sadly there are likely to be a few more deaths before we can finally say goodbye to Covid-19. Recently I have been trying to focus on gully cleaning (road drains) plus road sweeping. It is that time of year where council can sweep the roads and within a day or two it needs swept again. As I have said in previous reports, the council are behind with the gully cleaning as it is, so it is a big problem but they are working hard to get through the backlog. A word of caution, I have heard about some trees that were recently cut down in the villages. There are a number of trees in the villages with Tree Preservation Orders (TPO) on them. It is important that you check before cutting trees down. Removal of a tree with a TPO will require you to apply to the council planning department for permission. I am pleased to be able to give an update on the Biodiversity Plans. I understand that the council is still working through the biodiversity consultation but at the recent Leadership Board eleven areas were selected. The only site in my ward that has been selected is a strip alongside Station Road in Bishopton. I am sure this will please most of the residents who contacted me. I was asking questions at the recent Health & Social Care Partnership Board for progress on the promised new medical centre for Bishopton and Julie Pirone, the Conservative candidate in the next Scottish Parliament election which is in May, and myself have written to the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board to try pushing this along. Hopefully we will get some action in the next few weeks. We also made the press with this one. Please note my new surgery details: I am available for face to face meetings but am also available by phone. For the moment my surgeries will be by telephone only. My mobile number is 07534 148794. If you have problems getting through on the main council switchboard then you can try contacting me by phone on 0300-300-1291 or by email to cllr.james.maclaren@ renfrewshire.gov.uk . I am happy to receive messages via Facebook but I do prefer an email. In any case, it can take me a while to see Facebook messages. No community council reports at present but hopefully C Councils will be meeting up before too long. More on www.facebook.com/ councillormaclaren

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