Ralston Community Council has organised a series of free leisure classes for adults, running for 10 weeks from Monday 17 April to Friday 23 June. These classes are being funded by the Renfrewshire Community Health and Wellbeing Fund.

Details of the classes can be found in this leaflet, which is being delivered to all households in Ralston. Places for the courses are limited, so you should sign up as soon as possible. The preferred way to sign up is through the online form. Alternatively, you can email admin@ralstoncommunitycouncil.org.

Paisley Recycling Centre in Underwood Road will be closed on Monday 13 February to allow cabling works. One of Renfrewshire’s other recycling sites should be used on this day.

The yew tree outside St Mark’s Church has now been cut down.

Scottish Water has issued advice on how to stay safe, warm and comfortable this winter. This advice can be found on the Scottish Water website.

Renfrewshire Council’s director of children’s services, Steven Quinn, has issued the following information about the treachers’ strike on Wednesday 7 December.

Following a ballot of their members, the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA) and the NASUWT have confirmed their intention to take strike action.

The planned strike day is Wednesday 7 December 2022.

The number of teachers potentially involved in the planned action varies significantly across our schools and will require each Head Teacher to put different arrangements in place. Those arrangements will be confirmed by schools with parents and carers later this week.

I can confirm the following at this time:

Nursery Provision

All Early Years Centres and nursery classes will be open as normal.

Primary Schools

All primary schools will be open but, in some schools, where a class teacher is not at work and usual teaching will not take place, children will be supervised throughout the day.

Mary Russell and Riverbrae

Both schools will be open as normal. Where a teacher is not at work, alternative arrangements will be put in place to enable children to attend.

Secondary Schools

Different arrangements will be put in place at each of our secondary schools, dependent on the number of teachers involved in strike action. Head Teachers will contact parents and carers later this week to confirm which year groups will be able to attend school. Where it has been decided that a particular year group can attend, pupils will be directed to central areas to undertake self-study under general supervision, during periods where there is no available teacher.

School transport and lunch

For all pupils attending school on Wednesday 7 December, normal arrangements will be in place for school transport and lunch provision.

All nurseries and schools will open as normal on Thursday 8 December.

Staff who are eligible to take part in the strike will be able to do so. Staff who are not eligible, such as those who are not members of the relevant trade unions, will be able to attend their school or nursery as normal as these buildings will remain open for them. Arrangements for health and safety of employees will be maintained.

Nominations are now open for the 2023 Renfrewshire Provost’s Community Awards.

There are six categories available to nominate in and these are:

• Arts and Culture Award (sponsored by Renfrewshire Council)
• Carers Award (donated by the late Provost Nancy Allison)
• Community Group (sponsored by City Gate Construction)
• Community Volunteer (sponsored by Glasgow Airport Ltd)
• Employee of the Year (sponsored by UNISON Renfrewshire)
• Sport Award (sponsored by ACRE Industrial)

More details can be found at www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/provostawards2023. A nomination form can be downloaded from that site and nominations should also be submitted there.

The deadline for entries to all categories is Friday 6 January 2023.

Provost Lorraine Cameron will be joined by the award sponsors and other local elected members to choose the winners from all of the nominations, and the winners will be invited, along with their nominator, to an awards ceremony in March 2023.

The Western Desert Recce Group will be holding an Information and Meet & Greet Afternoon at the Whitehaugh Barracks on Sunday 20 November between 12:00 noon and 4:00 pm. The barracks are located in Whitehaugh Avenue. The purpose of the event is to meet with members of the local community and share plans for the renovation of the barracks as a community asset. If you would like to know more about the event please contact: gary@wdrg.org.

More information about the history of Whitehaugh Barracks can be found on the paisley.org.uk website.

Amey, on behalf of Transport Scotland as part of the Network Management Contract for the South-West Trunk Road Unit, are undertaking essential maintenance on the M8 eastbound at the Junction 26 on and off-slip roads from Thursday 10^th November until Thursday 24^th November 2022.

This scheme, with a value of £261,675, will benefit around 11,156 vehicles using this route each day, by improving the condition of the carriageway and reducing the need for more extensive maintenance in the future. The work will be carried out using off-slip and on-slip road closures and single lane closures with signed diversions in operation.

The first phase of resurfacing works will take place on the eastbound Junction 26 off-slip road between Thursday 10^th November and Friday 18^th November 2022 and will involve a full closure between 9pm and 6am, each night. There will also be lane closures on the Hillington Roundabout and on the M8 eastbound carriageway at the Junction 26 off-slip road.

There will also be a daytime single lane closure on the eastbound Junction 26 off-slip road on Sunday 13^th November 2022, between 6am and 9pm.

Traffic wishing to leave the M8 eastbound at Junction 26 may take one of three diversions:

1. Continue on the M8 eastbound to Junction 24, turning right on to Helen Street and re-joining the M8 westbound at Junction 24 before exiting at Junction 25A or Junction 26.
2. Leave the M8 at Junction 27, then turn right on to the A741 Paisley Road and right on to A8 Glebe Street, continue to Glasgow Road before turning right on to the A736 Hillington Road.
3. Leave the M8 at Junction 27, then turn left on to the A741 Renfrew Road and turning left on to the A761 Glasgow Road before turning left on to the A736 Hillington Road.

In addition, overnight 9pm-6am between Tuesday 15^th November and Friday 18^th November 2022, the lane closures on the M8 eastbound carriageway will extend through to Junction 25 to enable investigation works for a future scheme to be carried out.  This element of works will also involve a closure of Junction 26 and Junction 25 eastbound on-slip roads overnight 9pm-6am on Tuesday 15^th, Wednesday 16^th and Thursday 17^th November 2022.

Traffic wishing to join the M8 eastbound at Junction 26 and Junction 25a should head north along the A736 Hillington Road, then take the third exit at the roundabout onto the A8 Renfrew Road, then continue onto Shieldhall Road before turning right onto Helen Street and joining the M8 at Junction 24.

The second phase of resurfacing works will take place on the eastbound Junction 26 on-slip road between Saturday 19^th November and Wednesday 23^rd November 2022 and will involve a full closure between 9pm and 6am, each night. There will also be lane closures on the Hillington Roundabout and on the M8 eastbound carriageway at the Junction 26 on-slip road.

Additionally, on Sunday 20^th November 2022, there will be a lane closure on Hillington Roundabout from the Audi garage entrance which will become a lane closure on the eastbound Junction 26 on-slip between the hours of 6am and 9pm.

Traffic wishing to join the M8 eastbound at Junction 26 may take one of three diversions:

1. Head north along the A736 Hillington Road, then take the second exit at the roundabout on to King’s Inch Road and turn right on to Old Govan Road to join the M8 at Junction 25A.
2. Join the M8 westbound at Junction 26 and leave at Junction 27, turn right on to the A741 Renfrew Road and then turn right to join the M8 eastbound at Junction 27.
3. Head north along the A736 Hillington Road, then take the third exit on to the roundabout on to the A8 Renfrew Road. Continue on to Shieldhall Road before turning right on to Helen Street and joining the M8 at Junction 24.

Traffic management for this roadworks scheme will be removed by 6am on Thursday 24^th November 2022. 

Access for emergency service vehicles will be maintained throughout these works.

Paisley Halloween Festival will take place in Paisley’s historic town centre from Thursday 27  to Saturday 29 October.

The festival will include live performances and spine-chilling installations – all inspired by eminent heroes, myths and legends. From 6 pm to 9pm, the streets around Paisley Abbey will come alive with creeping spiders, other-worldly beings, a fire-breathing dragon and flying caped crusaders, all engaged in a battle of good versus evil.

More details can be found on the paisley.is website.

A new app has been launched to improve access to OneRen leisure facilities. The launch of the app follows the successful rollout of OneRen’s Legend e-booking system earlier this year.

The app allows customers to book and manage fitness classes and provides information on venue opening hours and the range of services on offer. Visitors will soon be able to use the app to gain access to OneRen’s facilities by scanning a code at entry barriers.

Use of the app requires people to have registered for Legend first. The app can installed on Apple and Android platforms. It can be downloaded by searching for “OneRen” on the Apple App Store or Android Google Play Store.

More details can be found on the OneRen website.

OneRen (formerly Renfrewshire Leisure) has announced its winter programme. Details can be found on the OneRen website.

Image: Getty Images

Renfrewshire Council has provided the following information about events in Renfrewshire to mark the death of The Queen and the accession of King Charles.

The provost’s statement marking the death of Her Majesty The Queen was published on the council’s social media channels and website on the evening of 8 September, shortly after the Palace announcement.

Books of condolence opened at 9:00 am on the morning of 9 September and are available for the public to sign at Renfrewshire House in Paisley, Johnstone Town Hall, Renfrew Town Hall and Tweedie Hall in Linwood, from 9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Saturday. Residents can also sign the online book of condolence on the Royal Family website.

Flags would be flown at half-mast at Renfrewshire House in Paisley, Houstoun Square in Johnstone and Renfrew Town Hall, until Saturday 10 September at 11 am, when flags would be raised to full mast to mark the Principal Proclamation of The King, which was due to take place at St James’s Palace in London.

The local Proclamation ceremony will take place at the flagpoles outside Renfrewshire House on Sunday 11 September at 12.30 pm. This is a public event, which will be led by Sean Murphy, temporary Sheriff Principal of North Strathclyde, and attended by Provost Cameron and Colonel Peter McCarthy, Lord Lieutenant of Renfrewshire. Flags will then be flown at half-mast until after the state funeral of The Queen.

Anyone who wishes to leave floral tributes can do so in the square in the cloisters of Paisley Abbey and the council’s teams will ensure floral tributes placed at other locations in Renfrewshire are cared for and collected after the funeral.

All council services are continuing to operate as normal and the council will provide information on any changes to service when arrangements for public holidays relating to the state funeral are known.

Following the success of the Beat the Street game in Renfrewshire in 2021, Renfrewshire Council’s active travel team has commissioned its return – and this time it’s in Paisley.

It was a huge success in Johnstone, Linwood, Lochwinnoch, Elderslie, Howwood, Bridge of Weir, Houston and Kilbarchan last time, with more than 6,300 people signing up and collectively they clocked up 53,100 miles in six weeks.

You can take part in the Paisley game at any point from 31 August to 12 October 2022. How to do this is explained below.

What is Beat the Street?

Paisley is being transformed into a giant game and you are invited to play!

Beat the Street is a free, fun, walking, wheeling and cycling game which gets communities, staff, pupils and their families out and about in the local area, having fun and being happy and healthy.

It’s designed to get children and communities moving by helping people to make small changes, such as walking or cycling to school or work, to improve physical and mental wellbeing and help embed physical activity into everyday life.

So far 1.5 million people and 4,500 schools have taken part in games across the UK and beyond.

How does it work?

Anyone can take part, with people over 13 being able to create their own account online.

All of our primary schools in Paisley are taking part – so if you’re a parent or carer, get ready to get your steps in!

To sign up yourself, you can collect your game materials (cards and maps) and instructions from one of our distribution points.

1. Lagoon Leisure Centre – 11 Christie Street, Paisley PA1 1NB
2. Morrisons – Falside Road (near Neilston Road) PA2 6JE
3. Ferguslie Park Community Library – Blackstoun Road, Paisley PA3 1NT –
4. Foxbar Library – 72 Ivanhoe Road, Paisley, PA2 0LA,
5. Glenburn Library – Fairway Ave, Paisley PA2 8DX
6. Tesco Express/Esso Filling Station – Renfrew Road
7. Keystore – 4 New Inchinnan Road, PA3 2PP
8. Paisley Gilmour Street Station

Game card readers called “Beat Boxes” are positioned around Paisley. You use your contactless game card to hover over these Beat Boxes as they travel around scoring points which sit on their individual and school leaderboards.

Once registered, how do you play?

• Register your card online at www.beatthestreet.me/paisley.
• Explore your local area using the online or paper map to find Beat Boxes.
• Hover your card at the contactless Beat Box until it beeps and flashes.
• Visit two Beat Boxes within an hour and collect 10 points for each
• Score 10 points for every extra Beat Box you visit.

Need help?

For more information, visit www.beatthestreet.me/paisley.

Tylney Road will be closed between Dunchurch Road and Glasgow Road for one week from Monday 29 August to allow carriageway resurfacing.

Alternative route: Dunchurch Road – Oldhall Road and vice-versa.

Ralston Community Council’s summer fair will be held on Saturday 20 August, from 11 am till 2 pm, at Ralston Community Sports Centre. The fair will feature the following exhibits and activities:

• Plant stall
• Ralston Art Club
• ROAR
• Corner Shop
• Races at 1:30 pm
• Tea/coffee
• Home baking
• Face painting
• Friends of Barshaw Park
• Crafts stall
• Inflatables – adult castle, Gladiator, childrens’ slide, wee disco dome
• Fire brigade and fire engine

The fair is sponsored by Renfrewshire Council and supported by Ralston Skills, Ralston Out of School Care, St Mark’s Church, Oldhall Scouts and Ralston Corner Shop.

There are still a few stalls left. If you are interested, please contact admin@ralstoncommunitycouncil.org.

Following notification of a Community Asset Transfer (CAT) request in relation to Ralston
Community Sports Centre (RCSC) published on Tuesday 31st of May 2022, a total of 2941
representations were received by Renfrewshire Council by the end date for representations of 1st July.

The CAT request, submitted by Kelburne Hockey and Community Sports Club, is for a long-term
lease of the sports centre and playing fields for the purpose of redeveloping the sports centre to
provide a wider range of sports and activities, extend the opening hours of the centre and to create an all level hockey pitch.

Within the total representations, 272 were received by post or into the CAT mailbox on or before
the 1st of July. This figure included 31 representations that did not provide a full address; 6 that did not state if they were in favour or against the CAT request; and 27 representations that did not provide any reason for why they either supported or rejected the CAT request. 1263 signed letters were delivered to the council on 1st July and are included in the total and breakdown of
representations. A further 1406 signatures were provided in the form of petitions. These have
been included in the total but are not included in the breakdown.

The total number of representations received excluding petitions was 1535. Of these, 118 (7.7%) are in favour of the CAT and 1417 (92.3%) are against.

A breakdown of the representations can be found on the Renfrewshire Council website.

The CAT application will be considered by Renfrewshire Council’s ILE Policy Board at either its August or its November meeting. More details can be found in the previous news item.

Scottish Water issued the following message with advice on the current heatwave on Monday 18 July.

As you will all be aware, many parts of Scotland are expected to see record high temperatures during the course of tomorrow, following on from very warm weather today and in recent days.

Scottish Water teams have been preparing and are working hard across the country to support customers and communities that are impacted by the hot weather. As ever, if there is a service issue affecting customers, Scottish Water can be contacted 24/7 via any of the details at www.scottishwater.co.uk/help-and-resources/contact-us/contacting-us.  If there are issues that you need to raise on behalf of the communities you represent, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team and we will do all we can to assist.

Stay hydrated and stay safe

Our primary focus today and tomorrow is on alerting customers in areas that are experiencing very hot weather to the importance of hydration in staying safe.

Our Your Water Your Life campaign, supported by our growing network of Top up Taps across the country, encourages people to enjoy Scotland’s drinking water – including by carrying a refillable water bottle when they are out and about.

Whether topping up at home, at work, at a local business or from a Top up Tap, we know that having access to drinking water is especially important in these conditions. Staying hydrated is essential – and using a refillable water bottle also saves money and helps the environment.

How you can help

• You can find your nearest Top up Tap here
• Please share this message on twitter if you can
• Read about our partnership with Age Scotland to improve the way we support some of our most vulnerable customers

Reducing unnecessary water use

We’re urging people across the country to help maintain normal water supplies by reducing unnecessary water use, especially outdoors.

Even before the current hot weather arrived, over the second weekend in July customers used an additional 200 million litres in their homes and gardens – the equivalent of 100 Olympic-sized swimming pools more than normal.

Everyone can take care of drinking water for its most important purpose and protect the environment by:

• Using a watering can or water butt instead of a garden hose / sprinkler – hoses can use 1000 litres per hour (equivalent of 12 baths)
• Watering plants early in the morning or later in the evening – and avoiding watering lawns which recover quickly from dry weather
• Using a bucket and sponge rather than a hose / jet washer to wash the car
• Avoiding filling up large paddling pools which can take thousands of litres – as well as re-using any water in them where you can

How you can help

• Please read and share our tips on ways to save water here

Respect our reservoirs – and know the risks

Alongside our emergency services and other partners, we know that these conditions significantly increase the risk of serious water safety incidents around our coasts and inland – including at many of the reservoirs that we look after.

In the hottest weather, the hazards of deep, cold water are easily underestimated – but even the strongest swimmers can be affected by cold water shock.  There is a lot of research showing that we are all prone to thinking that it won’t happen to us, but tragically it does happen. We work all year round with Water Safety Scotland and a wide range of organisations to raise awareness; as well as with our long term partners Scottish Swimming to making young people aware of the risks and give them basic survival skills.

How you can help

• Please consider sharing this hard-hitting video produced by our colleagues at Dwr Cymru (Welsh Water) particular targeted at young adults and their families
• Read about our long term partnership with Scottish Swimming in support of their Learn to Swim programme here
• The Royal Life Saving Society has produced an online Water Safety Toolkit for families which can be accessed here

Kelburne Hockey Club’s request for a community asset transfer of Ralston Community Sports Centre to the club went live on Renfrewshire Council’s website on Tuesday 24 May. The documents relating to the request can be viewed on Renfrewshire Council’s website. Members of the public have until Friday 1 July to raise objections to the request. If you wish the sports centre to remain in public hands, you should make a representation to Renfrewshire Council by this date.

If you wish to make a representation, you must do so in writing, stating your name and address. Representations should be sent to communityassettransfer@renfrewshire.gov.uk with the title “Ralston Community Sports Centre CAT Request Representation”. Please copy your representation to admin@ralstoncommunitycouncil.org. A copy of each representation will be given to Kelburne Hockey Club and will be published on the Renfrewshire Council website along with any comment from Kelburne Hockey Club.

All representations and responses are available to read on the Renfrewshire Council website.

A document containing notes on the public meeting held on 31 May about Kelburne Hockey Club’s CAT application for Ralston Sports Centre is available on the website.

A public meeting to discuss Kelburne Hockey Club’s application for a community asset transfer of Ralston Community Sports Centre to the club will be held at 7:00 pm on Tuesday 31 May in St Mark’s Church.

If you want the sports centre to remain in public ownership, you should make a representation against the application. You must do this in writing, stating your name and address. The closing date for representations is 1 July 2022.

Representations (for or against the application) should be sent to communityassettransfer@renfrewshire.gov.uk with the title “Ralston Community Sports Centre CAT Request Representation”. Please email a copy of your representation to admin@ralstoncommunitycouncil.org to keep the community council informed about the progress of represenatations against the application. A copy of each representation will be given to the Community Transfer Body (CTB) and will be published on Renfrewshire Council’s website along with any comment from the CTB.

The community council has set up a petition against the transfer which can be signed in the Ralston Corner Shop. (You can sign this and still make a representation against the transfer.) Please follow Ralston Community Council on Facebook or look on this website for updates over the next few weeks.

We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday 31 May.

Kelburne Hockey Club is planning to hold a public meeting about the application at 7:00 pm on Monday 6 June in Ralston Community Centre.

Kelburne Hockey Club has now submitted its application for a community asset transfer (CAT) of Ralston Community Sports Centre to the club. Renfrewshire Council’s CAT Panel will meet in early May 2022 to decide if the CAT application is valid. If it is judged to be valid, it will go to the council’s Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board for consideration at its next meeting in August 2022.

If the application is considered valid, the council will issue a public notice that the request has been received. The notice will be placed on the council website and displayed within a public area near the sports centre. The notice will contain details of whom the application has come from, the details of the request and confirm that representation can be made to the Council for a period of not less than 20 working days. Should representations be received they will be sent to Kelburne Hockey Club, which will have 20 working days to comment on them. A period of discussion will then follow when the detail of the request will be discussed and consideration be given to all the documentation submitted. The council has a period of six months to reach a decision on the request. Further information about the asset transfer process can be found on Renfrewshire Council’s website.

Kelburne Hockey Club is planning to leaflet the community in the near future with details of the application. It then plans to hold a public meeting about it, probably in May.

A petition against the application has been set up and is available to sign in the Penilee Road Corner Shop.

The community council has become aware of problems caused by some residents feeding foxes, which then go on to leave uneaten food in other residents’ gardens. This food includes pieces of chicken with bones, which can be extremely dangerous to dogs.

Renfrewshire Council advises residents not to feed foxes. The council’s website
has a page about foxes, which contains the following advice.

“We would like to stress the advice to members of the public to refrain from feeding foxes.

“It is very important that no attempt is made to try to tame foxes, to encourage them to feed from the hand or to encourage them close or into houses using food.

“This is not fair on the foxes and is only likely to cause problems later for people and the foxes themselves. Urban foxes are wild animals and should be treated as such.”

Over the past month, several residents have reported incidents of motorbikes being ridden in the Honeybog Hill area. At times there have been four or more bikes driving at high speed around the fields, causing worry amongst walkers using the hill and creating noise that has been very intrusive and annoying for residents living near the area.

Renfrewshire Council has been notified of the problem and has requested that residents who aware of motorbikes being ridden on Honeybog Hill should telephone either the police at 101 or the Renfrewshire Wardens service at 0300 300 0380 ( option 1), preferably at the time of the incident.

The community council is organising a silent auction in aid of Ukraine. The item being auctioned is an acrylic painting, tilted Highland Way, 28 x 34 cm, framed with glass. The proceeds of the winning bid will be donated to the Disasters Emergency Committee’s Ukraine humanitarian appeal.

Bids should be emailed to admin@ralstoncommunitycouncil.org. The closing time for bids is noon on Sunday 24 April. The winner will be notified shortly after the bids close.

The painting will be on view at the art stall at the Ralston Community Games, which will be held at Ralston Sports Centre on Saturday 23 April.

Many Ralston residents will be very concerned about the situation in Ukraine and wondering what they can do to help.

The general advice is that it is more effective to give money than food or clothes. The best way to do this is by donating to the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal.

Another thing you can do is to write to the MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, Gavin Newlands, at gavin.newlands.mp@parliament.uk, urging him to support Ukraine and push for more sanctions. The Ukrainian Insitute has created an email template that you can use. If you are not a resident of the Paisley and Renfrewshire North constituency, you can find your MP’s contact details at: https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP

As part of its commitment to active travel and its continued drive to meet its ambitious climate change aims, Renfrewshire Council is launching a new campaign called Not Far? Leave the Car.

The campaign will launch on Friday 11 March 2022 and will reward people in Renfrewshire for walking, cycling and using public transport, with discounts and prizes at local Renfrewshire businesses. It is being provided through the free BetterPoints app and has been funded by the Scottish Government.

Everyone across Renfrewshire over the age of 14 is encouraged to download the BetterPoints app on their mobile phone and track their day-to-day journeys – with sustainable journeys rewarded with points.

More details of the campaign and a link to allow the app to be downloaded can be found on Renfrewshire Council’s website.

Renfrewshire Council has issued the following waiting and loading ban notice.

Address: Glasgow Road, Paisley (westbound Only) between Newtyle Road and Alton Road.

Reason for restriction: To allow lane closure for ironwork repairs.

This ban will be in place on Monday 10^th January 2022.

Renfrewshire Leisure has announced that it plans to reopen the Ralston Community Sports Centre gym on Wednesday 1st December. The following statement was posted on Renfrewshire Leisure’s Facebook page on 22 November 2021.

“Ralston Gym will reopen from Wednesday 1st December 2021!  All 1 hour sessions will be required to be booked in advance online or by calling 0300 300 0250. Session bookings will be available from the 24th November 2021.”

Scottish Water is encouraging customers in communities across Scotland to prepare their homes for winter.

Its winter advice advises anyone with a home, holiday home or business premises to take action to heat, insulate and protect their properties.

Visit the Scottish Water website for winter information, films and advice and information about your pipework responsibilities.

We love to promote the great things happening in Ralston; so if you would like to advertise your local business in our Christmas newsletter, we would be delighted to let you do this in return for a small donation to offset the cost of printing.

If you would like to advertise in the newsletter, please email your details, advert and donation pledge (which we will request before going to print) to admin@ralstoncommunitycouncil.org.

The Kelburne Hockey Club application for a community asset transfer (CAT) of Ralston Sports Centre is on hold because it has to be legally ratified as a valid application. If it is validated then we, the local community, will be encouraged to offer our views on the application as part of the formal CAT process. The community council will keep you informed of what we need to do and when we need to do it. Please check here for the next update.

Kelburne Hockey Club has asked us to publicise its responses to points raised at the community meeting on 4 October about the application for a community asset transfer of Ralston Sports Centre to the club. The club’s responses are now available on our website. If you have any questions or feedback about the responses, could you contact Kelburne Hockey Club directly?

Ralston Councillor Neill Graham has circulated a letter about the future of Ralston Community Sports Centre.

Kelburne Hockey Club is submitting an application requesting the community asset transfer of Ralston Community Sports Centre to the club.

The club has shared its proposal with the community council and it was included in the summer edition of the Ralston newsletter. The community council would like to meet with the community to get its views on this proposal. A public meeting to discuss the proposal will be held at Ralston Community Centre, Allanton Avenue, PA1 3BL, on Monday 4th October 2021, from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm.

Because of covid restrictions, we are only able to have 150 people in total in attendance; so we would ask for only one person per household please (masks must be worn on entry and exit).

Please email admin@ralstoncommunitycouncil.org if wish to attend. You will then receive one of two responses:

1. We are looking forward to seeing you on Monday 4/10/2021 at 7 pm. Please bring this confirmation email to enter the Community Centre (or show us from your device). Please remember only one person per household can attend.

2. We are sorry but we are now oversubscribed for the meeting. Please send us any questions or points that you have. We will contact you to make you aware of any future meetings and/or outcome.

We will put updates on to our website and Facebook page. We may be unable to respond to every comment, point or question.

The Community Facilities Team at Renfrewshire Leisure has provided the following contact details for the Ralston Community Centre and the Ralston Community Sports Centre.

“The contact for ourselves for the community centre is only our email as we are working from home and do not have work phones at the moment – comfac.els@renfrewshire.gov.uk  and the contact for the sports centre is 0141 618 5700; however, this is only available in the evenings and weekends.”

Renfrewshire Leisure (RL) is planning for community facilities to be available again by mid September.

After receiving confirmation from Renfrewshire Council that its community facilities can re-open with appropriate safety measures in place, RL issued booking forms last week to previous users of facilities, detailing the new conditions of let to manage Covid-19 safety.

RL has asked for forms to be returned by 27th August and expects to be able to start confirming bookings from this date, to enable lets to commence by mid September, if not before.

Renfrewshire Council has issued the following road closure notice.

Road Closure: Buchlyvie Road, Paisley between School Road and house no.74

• Duration: This closure will be in force from Monday 09^th August 2021 until Wednesday 01^st September 2021.
• Reason: Scottish Water Works
• Diversion: Buchlyvie Road, Auchmannoch Avenue, Penilee Road, School Road or vice versa.

Renfrewshire Council has issued the following road closure notice.

Road Closure: Renfrew Road R/A to Netherhill (West Bound) – Overnight Works with carriageway returned to traffic during the day. Road closed between Lochore Avenue roundabout and Netherhill Road, approx 3,500sqm. Carriageway shall be opened to traffic by 7am daily and the site shall be left in a sound state with all vertical surfaces & raised ironwork suitably ramped and signed. 

• Duration: This closure will be in force from Monday 2nd August 2021 until Sunday 15th August 2021.
• Reason: N/A
• Diversion: Renfrew Road (Eastbound) / Arkleston Road / Gallowhill Road / Marjory Road / Netherhill Road.

The closure starts at 8 pm.

Renfrewshire Council has issued the following road closure notice.

Temporary Road Closure: A761 Glasgow Road, Paisley, from Arkleston Road to Oldhall Road

• Duration: This order will be in force on Monday 19^th July 2021 till Sunday 1^st August 2021.
• This notice will only be effective when so displayed by signs in accordance with The Traffic Signs Regulations & General Directions 2016.
• Reason: This is to allow for carriageway resurfacing.
• Vehicles left on the road in contravention of this notice will be moved out of the works area.
• Diversion:
  • Non-HGV traffic – Arkleston Road / Penilee Road then follow local signage.
  • HGV traffic – Arkleston Road / Penilee Road / Queen Elizabeth Avenue / Sandwood Road then follow local signage.
• Local and emergency access will be maintained at all times.

The closure appears to apply only to the eastbound carriageway (towards Glasgow), although the notice doesn’t state this.

There are also a Temporary Loading and Waiting Ban notice and two Temporary No Right Turn notices (Alton Road at the Glasgow Road junction; Gartmore Road at the Glasgow Road junction). All the notices can be seen on the Renfrewshire Council website.

Scottish Water has asked Ralston Community Council to publicise its 2021 water safety and respect campaign. This campaign encourages people to stay safe near water and respect areas of beauty.

A video about the campaign can be watched on Dropbox and can be downloaded if wished. You don’t need to have a Dropbox account to access the video.

Temporary road closure: St James Interchange, Paisley (overnight works)

St James Interchange, full length including M8 and A737 slips.

Phase 1 – East works – 30/06/2021 to 07/07/2021

Phase 2 – West works – 07/07/2021 to 14/07/2021

The closure will be in place from Wednesday 30th June till Wednesday 14th July, 2021 between 20:00 and 06:00. This is to allow for carriageway resurfacing works to take place. Emergency access will be maintained at all times.

Alternative routes:  Diversions will be signposted.

A TAPfit Lite exercise class is starting in St Mark’s Church on Thursday 10 June. It will run every Thursday until further notice, from 11:00 until 11:45.

This will be a low impact and gentler class for all abilities. Booking is required.

Further details, including how to book, can be found in the events section of the website.

Arkleston Road, Paisley from Gallowhill Road to Penilee Road. The closure will be in force from Monday 24th May to Friday 28th May, 2021. This is to allow carriageway patching.

Alternative routes:  Arkleston Road, A761 Glasgow Road, Penilee Road, Arkleston Cemetery Road and vice versa.

From Monday 10 May, 2021, all Renfrewshire libraries will offer limited browsing. This is in addition to the “click and collect” service which recommenced on 26 April. Details of which services are available can be found on the  Renfrewshire Council website. For Ralston Library, access for browsing is limited to two people at a time.

The libraries are currently operating different opening hours from previously. Ralston Library is open from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday.

You can order items online or by phoning 0300 300 1188.

Renfrewshire Council is implementing measures to ensure the Scottish Parliamentary election takes place safely on Thursday 6 May.

Polling stations have been adapted to ensure that all required health and safety measures are in place to reflect the current Coronavirus pandemic. Each polling station will have a one-way system in place, two-metre distancing at all times, Perspex screens, hand sanitiser and disposable pens, and face coverings will be required to be worn when moving around the polling station – unless the person is exempt. There will also be a designated cleaner for each polling station and supervisors will be in place to ensure that the safety measures are always followed.

Anyone with symptoms of Coronavirus on polling day should not attend their polling station but should contact the Electoral Registration Officer on 0300 300 0150 as early as possible to discuss their options.

Seedhill Road, Paisley from its junction with Mill Street to Cochran Street.

This section of Seedhill Road has been closed since 11th January, 2021. It was originally planned that it would reopen on Friday 16th April, 2021, but the closure date has now been extended until Wednesday 21st April, 2021.

Closure dates: Friday 16th April until Wednesday 21st April, 2021.

Reason for Restriction: Scottish Water works.

Alternative routes:

Northbound on Mill Street – Mill Street, Glasgow Road, Kilnside Road.

Southbound on Mill Street – Mill Street, Lonend, Barrhead Road, Hawkhead Road.

Westbound on Seedhill Road – Kilnside Road, Glasgow Road, Mill Street.

Glasgow Road, Paisley, from Whitehaugh Drive to Lacy Street, westbound only (i.e. towards Paisley town centre). The closure will be in place from Tuesday 6th April to Sunday 11th April, 2021. This is to allow resurfacing work.

Alternative route: Hawkhead Road, Barrhead Road, Lonend, Mill Street.

Renfrewshire Council is making improvements to its grass cutting programme from 5 April 2021. It will be changing the way it cuts our grassed areas, open spaces, school playing fields, public parks, and cemeteries, as well as how it provides its grass cutting assistance scheme for council house tenants.

Previously the council’s teams worked separately to deliver these services, but its new approach brings them together to coordinate the delivery of the service and tackle local areas at the same time. This will increase the frequency of grass cutting Renfrewshire’s communities receive. The teams will now work to a 14-day cycle and will tackle a different area each day, although they will return to finish any sections they weren’t able to complete the previous day.

The grass in Ralston will be cut on the second Friday of the fortnightly cycle, starting on Friday April 16.

The full fortnightly timetable is shown below. This information is also available on the Renfrewshire Council website, where you can see an interactive map. This allows you to input your postcode to confirm which area you fall under and to see the schedule.

Hedge cutting will continue to be provided twice a year and will operate in line with the new grass cutting model, with communities seeing their first cut between mid-May and mid-July and their second cut between mid-August and the end of September.

If you have any questions, you can email the council’s Environment & Infrastructure department.

Fortnightly timetable

Week1 (from 5 April 2021, then every two weeks)

Monday
Renfrew – Arkleston, Moorpark, Newmains, Dean Park, Town Centre
Tuesday
Renfrew North – Blythswood, Kirklandneuk; Inchinnan; Bishopton
Wednesday
Erskine; Langbank; Houston; Crosslee; Craigends
Thursday
Bridge of Weir; Kilbarchan; Brookfield; Howwood; Lochwinnoch
Friday
Johnstone West – Corseford, Spateston, Milliken Park, Cartside, Quarellton, Cochrane Castle
Saturday
Johnstone – Johnstone Castle, Town Centre, Johnstone East; Elderslie
Sunday
Linwood; Ferguslie Park

Week 2 (from 12 April 2021, then every two weeks)

Monday
Paisley South – Foxbar
Tuesday
Paisley Town Centre; Paisley South – Brediland, Meikleriggs, Lounsdale
Wednesday
Paisley South – Glenburn
Thursday
Paisley South East – Castlehead, Hunterhill, Todholm, Lochfield, Charleston
Friday
Paisley East – Dykebar, Hawkhead, Seedhill, Williamsburgh, Whitehaugh, Ralston
Saturday
Paisley North – Gallowhill, Shortroods
Sunday
Paisley – West End

Because of this week’s weather conditions, the brown bin collection scheduled for Ralston on February 11 has been cancelled. Residents should take in their brown bins and re-present them on the next scheduled collection day, which is Thursday February 25.

All of Renfrewshire’s waste collection services have been affected by the weather conditions. To ensure the council can collect as many bins as possible, food bin and brown bin collections have been cancelled for the rest of this week and will resume on Saturday if possible. This will allow the council’s crews to catch up on the missed collections which occurred because of safe access issues and the extra time it takes to move full bins in thick snow.

The yew tree at the side of St Mark’s Church has a new set of Christmas lights. Thanks are due to Renfrewshire Council for purchasing and installing the lights.

From Monday 11^th January, Seedhill Road will be closed at its junction with Mill Street for approximately three months.

From Monday 8^th February, the southbound carriageway of Mill Street will be closed at its junction with Seedhill Road for around two months. Traffic will be diverted onto a contraflow on the northbound carriageway during this time.

These closures are to allow upgrades to a combined sewer overflow (a sewer which is designed to spill in storm conditions and allowed to do so under SEPA regulations) in Mill Street and improvements to the waste water infrastructure in Seedhill Road. This work is part of Scottish Water’s £3.5m investment to help improve the water quality and natural environment in the White Cart Water.

Renfrewshire Council has asked Ralston Community Council to make the following information available to Ralston residents.

The Scottish Government has confirmed that from Monday 2 November at 6 am, Renfrewshire is in Covid Protection Level 3.

It is important that everyone in Renfrewshire follows the Level 3 restrictions  to ensure that we can suppress the virus and stop the area moving into Level 4 and more severe restrictions.

Level 3 restrictions include:

• Do not host people from another household in your home, or visit other people in their home (unless they are in your extended household).
• You can meet in a maximum group of six people from two households outside (you must physically distance).
• Schools and nurseries remain open, (with additional safety measures).
• Only travel for essential reasons (such as work, education, health, outdoor exercise, shared parenting, weddings, funerals, or shopping).
• Do not travel outside the local authority area for any non-essential reason. Avoid car-sharing and public transport where possible.
• Pubs, restaurants and cafes can remain open until 6pm (with safety measures in place) but no alcohol can be sold.
• Accommodation such as hotels and B&Bs can remain open, but they should be used by local people only.

Follow the FACTS advice at all times to keep yourself and others safe.

If you have symptoms of Coronavirus, book a test immediately and self-isolate while you wait for the results.

If you are contacted by Test and Protect, follow their instructions and self-isolate for the period requested.

For full details on the restrictions in Renfrewshire, visit www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/coronavirus.

For further Coronavirus health advice, visit www.nhsinform.scot/coronavirus.

If anyone doesn’t have internet access, they can call Renfrewshire Council on 0300 300 0230 for support.

Essential maintenance work will take place overnight on the westbound M8 Junction 26 slip road to Arkleston Road, between 8pm and 6am each night, from Monday 26th October to Tuesday 3rd November 2020. The aim of the work is to resurface the hard shoulder.

The scheme is intended to ensure the safe and reliable operation of the trunk road at this location and to reduce the need for future maintenance.

The work will take place in two phases, with a signed diversion route in operation.

• PHASE 1: 8pm Monday 26^th October – 6am Friday 30^th October
  • Overnight Lane Closures with Fast Lane 3 only open
  • M8 Jct 26 Westbound On-slip Closed and
  • Jct 27 Westbound Off Slip Closed
• PHASE 2: 8pm Monday 2^nd November – 6am Tuesday 3^rd November
  • Overnight Lane Closures with Hard Shoulder only open,
  • M8 Jct 26 Westbound On-slip Closed and
  • Jct 27 Westbound Off-slip Open

The road will be open as normal outwith these times.

Diverted traffic will leave the M8 at the Junction 26 off-slip road to the A736 Hillington Road and continue to the A761 Paisley Road West. From here, vehicles will follow the diversion to the A726 and on to the A741 Renfrew Road to re-join the westbound M8 at Junction 27.

Renfrewshire Council has launched a consultation on the proposed creation of biodiversity areas in Renfrewshire.

Because of the need to focus on essential services during the Covid-19 lockdown, grass cutting was paused during the lockdown period and this led to grassed areas growing longer than normal, while at the same time encouraging more wildflowers and wildlife. The council has received positive feedback on these changes and has identified an opportunity to develop new biodiversity areas within its communities. The council wants to create these areas to encourage wildlife to live there and for natural plants and flowers to blossom, and  will be adding to areas where required to improve the way they look and ensure that they can continue to flourish for years to come.

The council’s technical officers have identified and visited a number of proposed biodiversity areas, a maximum of ten in each community, to make assessments based on growing conditions, suitability and prominence of wildflowers and wildlife. The council now wants the local community to read these assessments and decide whether the designated areas are suitable to become biodiversity areas and to let it know any other areas the community believes would be suitable.

Any new biodiversity areas would not be left to grow out of control. They would be maintained and cut at the end of the growing season to increase the variety of insects, plants and wildflowers able to flourish. Where additional biodiversity aids, such as wildflower seeds, are required then these will be added; a number of areas suitable for this have already been identified. If a community decides that an area is not suitable for this treatment, it will be returned to the grass cutting programme.

The council is also asking the community to identify other areas where biodiversity could be encouraged, e.g. road verges, roundabouts, parks, so that it can shape future proposals that support the views of local people.

One of the proposed areas is on the east side of Penilee Road, between School Road and Atholl Crescent, and two are at the east end of Barshaw Park.

To take part in the consultation, go to Renfrewshire Council’s website. The closing date for completing the consultation survey is midnight on Sunday September 13.

Renfrewshire Council has announced that parking charges in council-owned car parks will be reintroduced on Monday August 17.

Parking charges have been suspended since the start of the Covid-19 lockdown in March. Residents were advised to stay at home wherever possible, unless they had to make an essential journey for food, medicine or work, and this also meant there were no visitors to the area. Therefore, parking within the council’s car parks was minimal and charges were removed to assist key workers to carry out their role.

In line with the Scottish Government’s route map, travel for exercise and leisure activities is now permitted and there has been a significant rise in the use of the council’s car parks as a result. Therefore, to ensure that there is a turnover of spaces for those who need them, charges will be reintroduced from Monday August 17. Anyone using a council car park will require to purchase a ticket for the length of time they plan to stay and display it clearly in their windscreen.

The parking pilot in six of Paisley town centre’s car parks remains in place and continues to offer the first three hours of parking free of charge at specific times – although a ticket must still be obtained and displayed.

The council’s enforcement officers will be advising motorists in advance of the reintroduction of charges to ensure that no one is unaware and potentially caught out.

More information on the reintroduction of charges, and the Paisley parking pilot, can be found on Renfrewshire Council’s website.

Morrisons Supermarkets have made a charitable donation of £3250 to match the amount raised by Roffey Park Road residents and bring the total raised to £6500. The residents raised the money by playing street bingo from April to the start of July, during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Morrisons’ donation was split evenly between the Accord and the Princess of Wales hospices, with £1625 going to each. This means that, of the total of £6500 raised by the fundraising effort, £2945 was given to each of the hospices and £610 to Renfrewshire lifeline charities.

Details of the residents’ fund-raising efforts can be found in a previous news item on this website.

Following the latest update on the Scottish Government’s route map out of lockdown, some services inside Renfrewshire’s library buildings will resume on Monday, July 20.

All 12 of the libraries will be open for returns and for borrowing on a click and collect basis, as part of measures being put in place to ensure the safety of staff and library users. Books can be reserved online or by telephone on 0300 300 1188. Access to buildings will be on a one in, one out basis. Each one will have a simple drop-off point for return.

The new opening hours for Ralston Library will be 10 am – 1 pm & 2 pm – 5 pm on Tuesday, Wednesday & Saturday.

Renfrewshire Council is implementing a scheme to temporarily widen footways where people queue outside and the footway is too narrow for social distancing to be maintained. This will be achieved by the installation of barriers at affected locations. Council officers have visited business premises and spoken to affected businesses about the council’s intention to install the barriers.

The works are designed to support business and vulnerable residents as pavements become busier with more people venturing outside. Any barriers removed and replaced with temporary barriers will be reinstalled to their original positions when these measures are no longer required. A contractor has been appointed and is expected to install the barriers in the next two weeks.

The location in Ralston that will be affected is at the foot of Penilee Road. A barrier will be installed on the kerbline in front of the shops to stop vehicles parking on the footway.

Renfrewshire Council’s waste recycling centres reopened on 1 June. The centres are initially accepting only ordinary household waste, and the acceptance of other waste types will be phased in.  Details of opening times and the phasing programme can be found on the Renfrewshire Council website.

Renfrewshire Council has asked Renfrewshire’s community councils to make the following information available to community members.

More than 840 volunteers have signed up for the Scottish Government’s national campaign Ready Scotland, which allows people to offer practical or emotional support if they are fit and well. You can sign up via www.readyscotland.org/coronavirus/volunteering.

Locally, almost 100 volunteers have signed up for the Renfrewshire Volunteer Reserve, run by Engage Renfrewshire, which has created a bank of volunteers to work with the council’s community partners. If you are healthy and able, you can sign up via the Coronavirus section at www.engagerenfrewshire.com.

The council has set up a Local Assistance Helpline for those who received a letter from the Chief Medical Officer requiring them to be shielded. If a vulnerable person does not have a support network to bring them essential food and medicine, the council can deliver this to them and encourages everyone who receives a letter to call it on 0300 300 0230 or text the Scottish Government’s national support line with their CHI number on 07860 064 525. This service is open seven days a week from 08.45am to 4.45pm.

The council’s health and social care teams continue to provide essential care for its residents both in their own homes and within care homes, and it is continuing to support its key workers by providing childcare to allow them to carry out their roles.

The council’s waste collection teams are currently continuing to deliver a full service, including all recycling and food and garden waste bins. The council collects more than 141,000 bins every week, and would appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding as it is operating with a reduced workforce at the moment. If your bin is missed, you are asked to report this; the waste collection team will return to collect it within five days.

At this time, everyone must follow the latest Government guidance and stay at home in order to save lives. Everyone should follow social distancing measures, wash their hands repeatedly throughout the day and only leave their home for essential reasons.

The council’s website has a dedicated Coronavirus section which covers various topics, including health and money advice, business support and changes to council services, and there is also a dedicated section for communities which looks at volunteering within the local area. This is updated daily and can be found at www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/coronavirus.

You can also follow the council on Twitter ­­– @RenCouncil – for all the latest updates as well as the chance to ask any questions that you may have.

The guest speaker at the February meeting of Ralston Community Council will be Fraser Carlin, Head of Planning & Housing, Renfrewshire Council, who will speak about the current housing developments at Hawkhead and Dykebar Hospital.

The meeting will be held on Thursday 13 February at 7:30 pm in Ralston Community Centre, Allanton Avenue, PA1 3BL. The agenda for the meeting is available on the website.

The meeting is open to the public and you will be made very welcome if you wish to come.

The Ralston Community Council annual general meeting will be held at 7:30 pm on Thurday, 10 October, 2019, in Ralston Community Centre. The meeting is open to members of the public.

The AGM pack contains the AGM agenda, and also the notice of election results for 2019, the council’s constitution and the council’s standing orders. Item 8 on the agenda (Renfrewshire Community Council Forum) refers to an RCCF  information leaflet. The RCCF leaflet is available on the website.

The AGM will be followed by the October meeting of the council. The agenda for the meeting and the  minutes of the September meeting are available on the website.

The Ralston Community Fun & Games Day planned for Saturday 14 September has been cancelled because of the waterlogged state of the ground at Ralston Sports Centre and the uncertain weather forecast for the next 48 hours.

Ralston Community Fun & Games Day will be held at Ralston Sports Centre on Saturday 14 September 2019, from 12 noon until 4 pm. In addition to games and activities, there will be stalls, refreshments and entertainment.

Please note that a photographer will be in attendance.

This event is supported by Renfrewshire Council.

Seedhill Road, Paisley, from Mill Street to Cochran Street.  The closure will be in place on Monday, 08^th July 2019 till Sunday, 25^th August 2019.  This is to allow for carriageway resurfacing works to take place on Mill Street.

Alternative route:  Seedhill Road, Hawkhead Road, Glasgow Road, Mill Street or vice versa.  Emergency and limited local access will be maintained.

Penilee Road, Paisley, from School Road to Arkleston Road.  The closure will be in place on Monday, 17^th June 2019 till Sunday, 30^th June 2019.  This is to allow for carriageway resurfacing works to take place.

Alternative route:  Arkleston Road, Glasgow Road, Penilee Road or Vice Versa.  Emergency access will be maintained.

The Peace Garden Open Afternoon will take place on Saturday 18 May 2019; 14:00 – 16:00. This provides an opportunity to stroll round the garden and enjoy the profusion of plants currently on display as well as the following activities:

• Performance by Flutephonics flute group
• Display of artwork by Paisley artists
• Guided tour with description of Barshaw history
• Light refreshments.

A recommended donation of £3 helps cover the cost of the event and will also help with the continuing maintenance of the garden.

The event is organised by Friends of Barshaw Park. More details can be seen here.

Nursery Grown Bedding Plants, Pots & Tubs, Baskets (plants by McLaren Nurseries, Lugton, Past Barrhead).

Come along and enjoy yourself:

• Tea & Coffee, Home Baking,  Scones with jam & cream, Meringues and Strawberries
• Crafts:  Decorate and plant a pot
• Hot dogs
• Prizes for best vegetable animal Categories P1-P7

Where?

• On the Church  Lawns
• St Marks Oldhall
• Glasgow Road (opposite  Penilee Road)
• Paisley

We’ve arranged a litter pick in Barshaw Park. Come join us and help make the park sparkling clean!

Meet in the car park at 3:30pm. Litter pickers, bags and gloves available from the car covered in ‘Team up to clean up’ bibs.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1167138816780352/

On Monday 1 April until Friday 5 April, Buchlyvie Road will be closed from School Road south-eastwards for 20 metres.

This is to allow for Scottish Water works to take place.

Alternative route:  School Road, Penilee Road, Auchmannoch Avenue, Buchlyvie Road or Vice Versa