We have now received links from OneRen to enable our residents to enrol in our autumn activity courses. The programme will start on Wednesday 27 September and run for 10 weeks until Monday 4 December. Please note that you will need a payment card to pay the £30 fee to enrol on each course. Please use the link next to each course below to enrol.
To enrol on a course, you first need to enrol with OneRen then enrol for a course. To do this:
Select the link for the course you wish to attend from the table below.
Select “New Member“.
Fill in details as required.
Next select “Sign up” then “Accept and continue“.
Next, come back to this page and select the link for the course you wish to attend.
Select “Add” at bottom of page.
Select “Add ticket” enter quantity “1“.
Select “Add and continue“.
Select “Proceed to checkout“.
Enter your card details and pay.
You will see message saying “Thank you, your payment has been successful“.
You will also receive a confirmation email (this may go to your junk folder).
Should you find your chosen course has already been filled, please let us know and we’ll try to find a solution. Please email: rccclasses23@gmail.com.
Some changes
Please note that we have had to make some changes to the initial programme that we issued previously. Specifically these are:
Yoga on Thursdays 11-11.45 should have read Chair Yoga.
Pilates on Thursday evening will no longer take place due to a booking clash.
We have also introduced a new course on Saturday mornings: Bootcamp with Luke – a high energy course with HIIT cardio and core workouts. This course also includes nutrition guides, recipes and a home workout plan – all specific to your individual needs.
All classes will take place in Ralston Community Sports Centre, Penilee Road PA1 3AX (except Zumba on Thursday evenings, which will take place in Ralston Community Centre, Allanton Avenue, PA1 3BL).
We would also like to highlight that neither OneRen nor Renfrewshire Council is making any money from this collaboration with Ralston Community Council. We are grateful to OneRen for waiving all hall hire and supervisor charges for these events. All the fees you pay to OneRen for taking part in a course will be totally reimbursed to Ralston Community Council and will be used to pay the instructors. We are using our new National Lottery Community Funding to subsidise the cost of the courses.
Due to the nature of this collaborative project with OneRen and our funding constrictions, the courses are only open to residents of Ralston over 18 years of age. In addition, OneRen card holders would still require to pay the enrolment fee per course.
Ralston Community Council is delighted to announce that another programme of activity classes will be held this autumn with the help of National Lottery funding.
This time, classes will be run in partnership with OneRen and will take place in Ralston Community Sports Centre, Penilee Road, PA1 3AX (except for one class, which will take place in Ralston Community Centre, Allanton Avenue, PA1 3BL).
The programme will start on Wednesday 27 September and run for 10 weeks until Monday 4 December.
All of the excellent instructors from the spring programme have agreed to return, except for pilates, where we’re delighted to welcome Kerry Stewart as our new instructor. Each class will last for 45 minutes.
Enrolment for courses will be done online through the OneRen website. A link to the enrolment page will be available shortly and will be published on this website when it becomes available. It is hoped that enrolment will open in early September.
When you enrol, OneRen will charge a fee of £30 per 10 week course. This has been heavily discounted with the help of the funding we have secured.
Because of the nature of this collaborative project with OneRen and our funding restrictions, theclasses are open only to residents of Ralston over 18 years of age. In addition, OneRen card holders will still need to pay the enrolment fee.
If a class for which you wish to enrol is full, please notify us by emailing rccclasses23@gmail.com and we will try to schedule an additional class.
The classes available in the programme are:
Day
Time
Activity
Instructor
Mondays
10-10.45am
Gentle Keep Fit
Margo
(from 2 Oct)
11-11.45am
TBC
12-12.45am
Pilates
Kerry
Wednesdays
10-10.45am
Keep Fit
Margo
(from 27 Sep)
11-11.45am
Gentle Keep Fit
Margo
12-12.45am
Yoga
Jo
6.15-7pm
Zumba (at Ralston Community Centre)
Linda
Thursdays
10-10.45am
Yoga
Cheryl
(from 28 Sep)
11-11.45am
Chair Yoga
Cheryl
12-12.45am
Zumba
Linda
7.30-8.15pm
Pilates
Kerry
Saturdays
(from 30 Sep)
10-10.45am
Yoga
Pam
We are delighted that OneRen has agreed to open Ralston Sports Centre during weekdays again for community activities, and we would ask that you support this venture by enrolling for classes; use it or lose it!
Ralston Community Council’s Summer Fair will be held on Saturday 19 August, from 11 am till 3 pm, at Ralston Community Sports Centre. The fair will feature the following exhibits and activities:
Renfrewshire Council has issued the following road closure notice.
TEMPORARY ROAD CLOSURE
A761 Glasgow Road, from Hawkhead Road to East Lane
Reason for restriction: Carriageway resurfacing works
Vehicles left on the road in contravention of this notice will be moved out of the works area.
Alternative routes: Hawkhead Road, Seedhill Road, Mill Street or vice-versa.
This order will be in force on Monday 14th August 2023 until Sunday 27th August 2023. This notice will only be effective when so displayed by signs in accordance with The Traffic Signs Regulations & General Directions 2016.
Renfrewshire Council has issued the following temporary prohibition of waiting and loading notice.
Allanton Avenue, Paisley; full length
Reason for restriction: footway resurfacing works
Vehicles left on the road in contravention of this notice will be moved out of the works area.
This order will be in force from Monday 24th July 2023 until Friday 28th July 2023. This notice will only be effective when so displayed by signs in accordance with the Traffic Signs Regulations & General Directions 2016.
Renfrewshire Council has issued the following road closure notice.
A761 Glasgow Road, from Whitehaugh Drive to Hawkhead Road (Eastbound Only)
Reason for restriction: Carriageway resurfacing works
Vehicles left on the road in contravention of this notice will be moved out of the works area. Local and emergency access will be maintained at all times.
Alternative Routes: Mill Street, Lonend, Barrhead Road, Hawkhead Road or vice-versa.
This order will be in force on Monday 31st July 2023 until Sunday 13th August 2023. This notice will only be effective when so displayed by signs in accordance with the Traffic Signs Regulations & General Directions 2016.
Renfrewshire Council has issued the following temporary prohibition of waiting and loading notice.
A761 Glasgow Road, from Oldhall Road to Tylney Road
Reason for restriction: footway resurfacing
Vehicles left on the road in contravention of this notice will be moved out of the works area. Local and emergency access will be maintained at all times.
This order will be in force from Monday 10th July 2023 until Sunday 23rd July 2023. This notice will only be effective when so displayed by signs in accordance with the Traffic Signs Regulations & General Directions 2016.
Under our “Ralston in Bloom” initiative, the community council has installed 30 planters along Glasgow Road, from Barshaw Park to the Glasgow boundary.
We’ve planted summer bedding plants into the planters but, with the recent drought, we’re concerned that the plants might perish without water.
We’re asking the Ralston community to keep these planters watered, perhaps by emptying a bottle of water into a planter as you walk along Glasgow Road. Most of the planters are at bus stops, but there are some at various other locations
As part of Renfrewshire Council’s actions to meet the financial challenges it faces, an annual charge of £40 will be introduced from 10 July 2023 for the collection of garden waste from residents.
The council is not legally required to collect garden waste; so the decision has been taken to introduce this charge in line with two-thirds of other local authorities who offer a garden waste collection service in their areas.
Residents should apply for their permit by 25 June 2023 to ensure it is in place when the new service begins on 10 July 2023. The permit should be reapplied for annually so it is in place for the start of each financial year on 1 April. When a permit is purchased, the transaction will be logged on the council’s system and the permit will be posted to the resident.
The permit should be attached to the front panel of the bin to ensure it is collected by the council’s crews. Those with a permit should put food and garden waste into their brown bin for collection.
Anyone who does not wish to participate can continue to present their brown bin as normal with food waste only, but if garden waste is placed into the bin without a permit, then it will not be collected until the garden waste is removed or a permit is purchased.
The permit applies to one bin only; a permit must be purchased for each brown bin a resident wishes to be collected. A replacement can be provided should the resident move during the year to another address within Renfrewshire. Additional brown bins and permits can be purchased as required.
Further information on the service, including how to apply for a new or replacement permit, is available on the council’s website.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Simon/StMarksChurch.jpg363424Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2023-04-24 11:13:592023-04-24 11:13:59Plant sale on Saturday 13 May
At the end of 2022, Kelburne Hockey Club submitted an appeal against Renfrewshire Council’s decision to reject their Community Asset Transfer request for Ralston Community Sports Centre. The Council’s CAT Review Sub-committee met on 22 March and unanimously decided to uphold the original decision to reject Kelburne’s CAT request. We believe that there will be an article about this in the Paisley Daily Express on 23 March.
Kelburne have one final option, which is to appeal to the Scottish Government against the decision. It is not yet clear whether Kelburne will pursue this option.
Once again, Ralston Community Council thanks everyone who has worked to retain this valuable asset for the benefit of our community.
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.
A final decision on Kelburne Hockey Club’s appeal against Renfrewshire Council’s decision to refuse its application for a community asset transfer (CAT) of Ralston Sports Centre to the club will be made by a sub-committee of the council’s Infrastructure, Land and Environment policy board at its meeting on Wednesday 22 March 2023. The meeting will start at 14:00.
This will be an online meeting and therefore it will not be possible for the public to observe the proceedings at the council chambers. However, the meeting will be live streamed and can be accessed using this link:
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.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Locations/paisley-recycling-centre.jpg7681024Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2023-02-10 17:27:592023-02-10 17:27:59Paisley Recycling Centre closed on 13 February
Renfrewshire Couincil has isued the following information about work taking place at two of its recycling centres between 4 and 9 February.
Underwood Road, Paisley
On Saturday 4 February, there will be works at the Underwood Road site in Paisley as our contractor undertakes cable pulling works at the rear of the service area.
There will be safety cones on the main access road into the depot and the works area will be fenced off, with some of the works taking place on Monday 6 February.
Access to the recycling centre for residents will be maintained, but we would ask anyone visiting to take care when entering and leaving the site.
Middleton Road, Linwood
Following our £350,000 award from the Scottish Government’s Recycling Improvement Fund, civil engineering works are required at Linwood to facilitate the planned upgrades to the recycling infrastructure.
Therefore, the site will be closed on Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 February and residents will need to use one of our other recycling centres.
The permit application process will be updated to direct anyone in a van or car with a trailer to Underwood Road in Paisley for the duration of the works – and they will still need to apply for the permit in advance.
A member of the waste team will be on site at Linwood to advise residents of the closure if they do not know already, but signage will be on site and on Middleton Road in advance, the permit application and council website will be updated, and the closure will be advertised on the appropriate council social media channels.
We anticipate the site being open as normal on Friday 10 February.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Posts/st-marks-yew-1.jpg640480Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2023-01-26 22:13:102023-01-26 22:13:10St Mark's yew tree
When we talked with Ralston residents last year, many of you told us that you would like to see more activities taking place in Ralston. We therefore applied for funding to run a series of 10-week programs running from mid-April until the end of June 2023.
The activities will be held in Ralston Bowling Club and other venues in Ralston. We would have liked to run them in Ralston Community Sports Centre. However the centre is currently closed during the day and OneRen are unable to discuss the matter with us while Kelburne Hockey Club’s appeal against the decison not to approve its application for a community asset transfer of the sports centre to the club is in progress.
Activities will be free (or at very low cost) and may include: Keep Fit, Easy Keep Fit, Disability Exercise, Tone, Yoga and Chair Yoga.
We want to add more classes, and would love to hear from instructors who would be interested in running any of the following: Pilates, Tai Chi, Zumba or Ballroom Fitness. If you could help us, please email admin@ralstoncommunitycouncil.org.
Renfrewshire Council’s Community Asset Transfer Review Sub-committee meeting, which will consider Kelburne Hockey Club’s appeal against the decision not to approve its application for a community asset transfer of Ralston Community Sports Centre to the club, is scheduled for Friday 20 January 2023 at 10:00 am.
The meeting will be held via Teams and will be webcast live. You can view the meeting on Renfrewshire Council’s website, which also contains a link to the meeting agenda.
There will not be an opportunity for Kelburne Hockey Club or members of the public to make representations at this meeting. (This is explained in the meeting procedures, on pages 7-9 of the agenda document pack.)
The charity Roar* holds “talk 0ver toast and tea” sessions at Sherwood Greenlaw Church every Friday from 9:00 am until 11:00 am. You are invited to come along for a hot drink, toast and a blether.
Roar: Connections for Life is an award-winning charity that offers a range activities for older people. You can find out more about Roar and the activities it offers on the paisley.org.uk website.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Logos/roar-logo-2.png376376Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2023-01-09 18:52:022023-01-09 19:05:54Roar "Talk Over Toast and Tea" at Sherwood Greenlaw Church
Renfrewshire Council has developed plans to enhance walking, cycling and public transport connections for residents, businesses and visitors on Causeyside Street. Details of the project were given in an earlier news item.
As part of its engagement with local people, the council created a concept design to visualise the plans and all stakeholders, including ward members, community councils, local partnerships and Paisley-based partners, were asked to take part in a survey. Letters were delivered directly to residents and businesses received an in-person visit. Members of the project team were also available in-person at 5 High Street on various occasions during the engagement period (11 July – 7 August 2022), while the plans were also communicated through the local media and social media.
While a large number of the responses were positive, there were also constructive points raised about how the project could be improved. The council has now modified the project to take account of this feedback. Details can be found here.
All residents and businesses on Causeyside Street will now receive a letter outlining the revised plans and key stakeholders such as bus and taxi providers, Local Partnerships and Community Councils will also be contacted directly. Awareness will also be raised through the local media and through the Council’s social media channels.
If you have any comments, please let Renfrewshire Council know by emailing ei@renfrewshire.gov.uk, calling 0300 300 0380 or, if you are not able to access the project plans online, you can write to the council at Environment and Infrastructure, Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley, PA1 1BR. You can also visit a local library to see the plans and leave your feedback.
The closing date for any comments on the final designs is Sunday 15 January 2023.
Renfrewshire Council will close at 2:30 pm on Friday 23 December 2022 and will open again at 8:45 am on Thursday 5 January 2023. However, all essential services will continue to operate.
Further details, including information on key service areas such as bin collections, leisure centre opening times and social work services, along with emergency contact numbers, can be found on the Renfrewshire Council website.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Locations/DSC_2847-scaled.jpg17002560Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2022-12-20 14:27:082022-12-20 14:30:47Renfrewshire Council services over the festive holiday period
The community council has arranged a one-off session, given by NHS trainers for local residents, which will teach basic emergency life support. It is free and will last for 2 hours.
The training session will cover:
Cardiac arrest and awareness of a defibrillator
Recognition of a suspected heart attack
Placing a casualty in the recovery position
Dealing with a severe bleed
What to do if an adult, child or baby is choking
The session will be held from 2:00 to 4:00 pm on Sunday 29 January 2023 at St Mark’s Church, 334 Glasgow Road.
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.
Renfrewshire Council’s Winter Connections programme provides support for a network of local places across Renfrewshire where people can come together this winter to meet up.
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.
Closure: Newnham Road, Paisley between Woodend Drive and Rotherwick Drive (between house nos. 1-15). The closure will be in place from Monday 5 December 2022 until Friday 16 December 2022.
Closure reason: SP energy works
Alternative routes: Rotherwick Drive – Strathmore Avenue – Woodend Drive or vice versa
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.
Parking in Paisley can now be paid for online or by phone following the introduction of RingGo to car parks and on-street spaces.
Anyone parking in Paisley town centre can pay using the RingGo app, the RingGo website or by calling 0141 437 8378 – with cash payments still available from pay machines on site.
A ticket does not need to be displayed when paying by RingGo as parking attendants will check the license plate on their handheld devices, but a ticket is required when paying by cash.
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 10th November until Thursday 24th 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 10th November and Friday 18th 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 daytimesingle lane closure on the eastbound Junction 26 off-slip road on Sunday 13th November 2022, between 6am and 9pm.
Traffic wishing to leave the M8 eastbound at Junction 26 may take one of three diversions:
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.
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.
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 15th November and Friday 18th 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 15th, Wednesday 16th and Thursday 17th 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 19th November and Wednesday 23rd 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 20th 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:
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.
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.
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 24th November 2022.
Access for emergency service vehicles will be maintained throughout these works.
A ladies’ buffet lunch and fashion show in aid of St Mark’s Church will be held in Ralston Bowling Club on Saturday 5 November, starting at 12:30 pm. The event will include a pop-up shop where you can purchase high street brands at 50% or more off.
More details can be found in the website’s events section.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Locations/DSC_2782-scaled.jpg17002560Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2022-11-01 10:06:582022-11-01 10:11:47Ladies' fashion show and pop-up shop
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.
Many of you will have noticed that the McGill’s bus service has been very poor recently, with lots of buses missing. McGill’s say that this is caused by a national driver shortage. Details of short notice journey cancellations can now be found on the McGill’s website.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Logos/mcgills-logo.png124370Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2022-10-20 16:38:562022-10-20 16:39:40McGill's bus service cancellations
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.
Kelburne Hockey Club has appealed against Renfrewshire Council’s decision to refuse its application for a community asset transfer (CAT) of Ralston Sports Centre to the club. The appeal will be considered by a sub-committee of the council’s Infrastructure, Land and Environment policy board.
The notice of review can be seen at Ralston_Community_Sports_Centre_-_Notice_of_Review.pdf (renfrewshire.gov.uk) Further representations (for or against the CAT application) can be made, in writing and stating your full name and address and postcode, to catreview@renfrewshire.gov.uk or by posting to CAT Review, Committee Services, Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley PAI 1TR. All further representations must be submitted by Thursday, 27 October 2022, which is 10 working days from the date of the notice of review.
The community council has been informed that copies of any previous representations will be considered when determining the review but these need to add value to what has previously been submitted. A copy of further representations received will be sent to Kelburne Hockey Club who will have a further 10 working days to submit a response.
Renfrewshire Council launched its Not Far? Leave the Car campaign in March 2022 as part of its commitment to active travel and its drive to meet its climate change aims. The campaign rewards 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.
The campaign now has nearly 1,000 members, and you are encouraged to sign up if you haven’t done so already and to encourage others across Renfrewshire to take part. The campaign is also being promoted through the Beat the Street game currently running in Paisley, which is supporting young people, their parents and carers, and the community to get active.
A recap of Not Far? Leave the Car
You can earn points by walking, wheeling, cycling or using public transport for your journeys – basically any journey that leaves the car at home.
You can use these points to collect vouchers or discounts from more than 125 local businesses in Renfrewshire – including cafes, restaurants, hairdressers, jewellers and more.
It’s a great way to support local businesses while getting healthier.
You can also donate your points to charities like St Vincent’s Hospice, ACCORD Hospice or the Scottish Wildlife Trust.
What’s going on at the moment?
16-22 September is TravelWise Week and there’s £1,300 worth of prizes on offer, including a European city break.
Eurostar top prize
Everyone who tracks a car-free trip over a mile on three days between Thursday 22 September and Wednesday 5 October – and takes a short survey to opt in – will go into the draw for a £500 travel and accommodation voucher from Eurostar, plus £300 of spending money. The winner will be announced on Thursday 6 October
Refer a friend
There are three weekly prizes of 100,000 BetterPoints (£100!) and every friend you refer, up to ten per week, will earn you an entry into the draws during September.
Car Free Day
Every car-free trip of over a mile on Thursday 22 September will earn an entry into the draw for one of two prizes of 50,000 BetterPoints.
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.
Renfrewshire’s Provost Lorraine Cameron has expressed condolences on behalf of the people of Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire Council to the Royal Family following the death of Her Majesty The Queen. Flags are being lowered to half-mast at Renfrewshire House, Houstoun Square in Johnstone and Renfrew Town Hall.
Renfrewshire Council has announced that books of condolence will be available from Friday 9 September at Renfrewshire House, Johnstone Town Hall, Renfrew Town Hall and Tweedie Hall, Linwood, from 09.00 to 17.00 Monday to Saturday. The council will share the link to the official online book of condolence when it becomes available.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Posts/queen.png351624Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2022-09-08 22:26:092022-09-08 22:30:55Books of condolence for the Royal Family
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.
Lagoon Leisure Centre – 11 Christie Street, Paisley PA1 1NB
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.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Logos/Renfrewshire-CouncilLogo.jpg189267Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2022-09-08 09:49:172022-09-08 09:59:09Beat the Street game
Renfrewshire Council has refused Kelburne Hockey Club’s application for a community asset transfer (CAT) of Ralston Community Sports Centre to the club. The decision was made at the meeting of Renfrewshire Council’s CAT Panel on 30 August 2022. The reasons given for refusing the application were:
Uncertainty of funding available to carry out works detailed in the CAT Request; and
Impact of the significant degree of community opposition to the CAT Request on community cohesion.
A huge thank you to the community for coming together to oppose the application, for attending meetings, and for the massive amount of letters and email representations. Your collective voices have been heard! We look forward to supporting and working with OneRen to make Ralston Community Sports Centre great again.
The date for the August meeting of Renfrewshire Council’s Infrastructure, Land and Environment (ILE) Policy Board has been changed from Wednesday August 24 to Wednesday August 31.
Kelburne Hockey Club’s application for a community asset transfer (CAT) of Ralston Sports Centre to the club will be considered by the ILE Policy Board at either this meeting or its meeting on Wednesday 2 November. The meetings will be held in the council chambers in Cotton Street at 1 pm. The agendas for the meetings are published a week in advance, and we will not know until the agenda for the August meeting is published which meeting will consider the application. We will publish a post on the website as soon as we know which meeting will be considering the application.
As there are only 60 places in the public seating area of the chambers, you are advised to arrive well in advance of the starting time if you wish to attend the meeting. The meeting will be live streamed and you can watch it from the following link:
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Locations/ralston-sports-centre-1.jpg313571Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2022-08-19 15:34:452022-08-19 15:37:39Date change for Renfrewshire ILE Board August meeting
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.
Phase 2 of the work to install the new pedestrian crossing in Penilee Road, at the junction with Kinpurnie Road, started Wednesday 3 August with physical buildouts for pedestrians. Advance warning signage will be installed during the week starting 8 August. The work is due to finish by Friday 12 August.
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.
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.
Kelburne Hockey Club’s application for a community asset transfer (CAT) of Ralston Sports Centre to the club will be considered by Renfrewshire Council’s Infrastructure, Land and Environment (ILE) Policy Board at either its August or its November meeting. These meetings will be held in the council chambers in Cotton Street at 1 pm on Wednesday 24 August and Wednesday 2 November. The agendas for the meetings are published a week in advance, and we will not know until the agenda for the August meeting is published which meeting will consider the application. We will publish a post on the website as soon as we know which meeting will be considering the application.
As there are only 60 places in the public seating area of the chambers, you are advised to arrive well in advance of the starting time if you wish to attend the meeting. The meeting will be live streamed and you can watch it from the following link:
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.
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
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.
Renfrewshire Council launched its Not Far? Leave the Car campaign in March 2022 as part of its commitment to active travel and its drive to meet its climate change aims. The campaign rewards 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.
The campaign now has more than 750 members, and you are encouraged to sign up if you haven’t done so already and to encourage others across Renfrewshire to take part. In addition to the normal discounts and prizes, everyone who records a journey before the end of July will be entered into a draw to win a £15 voucher at Nomads’ Coffee Shop in Paisley.
More details of the campaign and a link to allow the app to be downloaded can be found on Renfrewshire Council’s website.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Logos/Renfrewshire-CouncilLogo.jpg189267Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2022-07-16 09:08:312022-07-16 09:10:53Not Far? Leave the Car campaign
As part of its drive to transform Paisley town centre, Renfrewshire Council has developed plans to enhance walking, cycling and public transport connections for residents, businesses and visitors on Causeyside Street.
The council is looking to provide a safe, appealing cycle connection between Paisley Canal and Paisley Gilmour train stations, which connects into the popular National Cycle Route 7 which heads west to Johnstone and Ayr and east to Glasgow.
The council says that the proposed improvements would create a more attractive, safer public space for active travel and would provide convenient connections to public transport facilities while ensuring it retains the reflection of the town’s heritage in the bespoke pavements and carved references to Paisley’s industrial past.
Members of the project team will be visiting all businesses on Causeyside Street in-person to discuss the plans and answer any questions, as well as being available for the public every Wednesday and Friday from 12pm-2pm at 5A High Street, Paisley during the engagement period (11 July – 7 August).
On Friday 1 June, Ralston Community Council submitted nearly 1200 letters of objection to the proposed community asset transfer (CAT) of Ralston Community Sports Centre to Kelburne Hockey Club. The letters, which were from Ralston residents and Ralston Community Sports Centre users, were submitted to Renfrewshire Council. We know that hundreds more representations have been submitted by email. The presentation of the objections was reported by the Glasgow Evening Times.
As a community we have made the strength of our opposition abundantly clear. We want our community sports centre to remain a community asset and have also consulted on what we would like to see in the centre. We have asked to work in partnership with OneRen to return the centre’s usage to the more than 85,000 visits per year that it was pre- covid.
A decision on the CAT application will be made by Renfrewshire Council’s Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board. We have been advised that this will happen at either the August 2022 or the November 2022 meeting of the board.
The community council would like to thank the many residents who attended the public meetings to give their views on the application for the transfer.
There are many other people to thank for their ongoing support, including: Russell Findlay, MSP; Neil Bibby, MSP; Neill Graham, local councillor; Graeme Clark, local councillor; St Mark’s Church for allowing us to use it for one of the public meetings; and John and the team at Ralston Community Centre for preparing the centre for the first public meeting (and helping with leafleting). Dionne and her team at the Corner Shop did a superb job in gathering representation letters, leaflets with class choices and the signing of the petition. The biggest support in three rounds of leafleting came from Ralston Skills; a big thank-you for that and for their help with the letter collection. Penultimate thanks go to Idgraphiques and Ukprint1 for their design and printing of our leaflets.
However, the biggest thanks has to be the community who have made clear their wishes and helped with leaflet drops. Some even chapped on doors to help in the representation gathering. We couldn’t have done any more.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Posts/PHOTO-2022-07-01-22-11-22.jpg438640Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2022-07-02 17:07:082022-07-02 18:27:53Objections to proposed CAT of Ralston Sports Centre submitted
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.
Works to resurface Hawkhead Road from the White Cart bridge to the Hawkhead/Barrhead Road roundabout and also to resurface the Hawkhead/Barrhead Road roundabout will take place from Monday 20 June.
Phase 1 – Hawkhead Road works. Works start Monday 20th June 2022.
The main Hawkhead Road works will be undertaken during the day and is expected to take 2 weeks; three weeks in total has been booked to allow for any unforeseen issues that may arise during the works.
Access for vehicles will be maintained during the works to the residents of Hawkhead Road including all side roads & associated premises within the area of resurfacing. This access will be provided from the Seedhill Road side of the works.
Access for vehicles within the works areas will be under the direction of the contractor, Finco Contracts Ltd, who will provide signage and traffic marshals who will direct you through the works to ensure your safety.
The existing road surface will be made safe with suitable ramps and signage where required.
The diversion will be:
Glasgow Road / Mill Street / Lone End / Barrhead Road and vice versa
Phase 2 – Roundabout works. Works Start Monday 20th June 2022 – overnight working 8 pm to 6 am
To minimise disruption to road users and businesses, the resurfacing of the roundabout will be undertaken as overnight works (8pm to 6am), with the roundabout reopening to traffic during the day. This section of the works is expected to take a maximum of 3 nights to complete.
The existing Hawkhead Road closure will remain in place with the addition of the following diversion:
Glasgow Road / Mill Street / Lone End / Gordon Street / Neilston Road / Caplethill Road / Grahamston Road and Vice versa.
Access to Hawkhead Estate (Ben Nevis Road) will be taken across the central reserve by means of temporary traffic measures from the Grahamston Road side of the works.
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.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Locations/ralston-sports-centre-1.jpg313571Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2022-06-02 22:02:442022-06-02 22:02:44Notes on public meeting about Kelburne CAT application
Renfrewshire Council has changed the arrangements for bins that were due to be collected on Thursday 2 June. The council did not make this known until the morning of 2 June.
Grey bins will now be collected on Sunday 5 June. Brown bins will not be collected until the next scheduled date, Thursday 16 June.
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.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Locations/ralston-sports-centre-1.jpg313571Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2022-05-27 14:46:362022-05-27 15:04:59Ralston Community Sports Centre public meeting
Friends of Barshaw Park have submitted a planning application to turn the disused donkey paddock in Barshaw Park into a community garden. The plan for the new garden has been made possible by the Royal Horticultural Society who are awarding the Friends of Barshaw Park £50,000 to create the new community garden. In addition, RHS has appointed leading garden designers to create the garden, and will support the new garden over the next 3 years with a grant of £15,000.
Community gardens can be of great value to an a local area. They can improve soil and air quality, increase biodiversity, increase economic opportunities, and improve the mental and physical health of those who use them.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Posts/DSC_2559-scaled.jpg17002560Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2022-05-17 23:02:412022-05-18 11:05:28Barshaw Park Community Garden
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.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Locations/SportsCentre-scaled.jpg17002560Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2022-04-26 20:48:552022-04-26 21:04:16Ralston Community Sports Centre update
Update on the community asset transfer application
At the community meeting about the community asset transfer (CAT) application from Kelburne Hockey Club (KHC) held on 4 October last year, an overwhelming majority of those present were opposed to the transfer of this asset.
KHC has now been granted charitable status, but its application is still to be ratified before it can even be considered by Renfrewshire Council. If it does proceed, the community council will have to work within legal guidelines to raise objections. Renfrewshire Council’s Petitions Board is also investigating the application. In addition, Gleniffer Thistle Football Club has apparently confirmed its interest in the sports centre and is likely to submit a CAT in the future. We will let you know of any developments when we hear of them.
How we can support the sports centre
The community council is preparing objections to be raised in the event of the application being validated and moving to the first stage. However we can’t fight for something that we are not using. So part of our strategy is to work with Renfrewshire Leisure (rebranded as OneRen), who are responsible for the running of the centre, to help us make full use of this resource in our community. The community council has already met with OneRen to discuss this, and we now need to hear from the community and current users.
Gym
Covid has greatly impacted on the usage of all gyms, and Ralston gym has been no exception. However, if we want to retain this gym, then the number of memberships needs to increase.
Classes
The current operating model is for the pavilion to be open in evenings and at weekends, but as soon as Covid restrictions are lifted we can arrange classes in the centre.
We can book our own self-employed instructors to run classes at the centre. Each class needs a (volunteer) class coordinator to arrange who will be attending and to confirm the time of the class with the instructor and the sports centre. So please let us know (in the comments box on this form) if this is something you would be interested in supporting.
Possible new activities
We would like to tie in with the current walking group.
We have recently met with ROAR and have another meeting arranged to discuss how we can work together to make better use of our facilities.
We have had a suggestion that parents would like a class to be run in the pavilion whilst their child/children are playing football on the pitches.
We would like to hear from everyone, across all age groups, about how we as a community could use this facility better than we are at the moment.
Survey form
Please let us know your suggestions, thoughts, ideas, preferred classes and times using this form. The form should be returned by 30 April 2022, either to the counter of The Corner Shop or or by email to admin@ralstoncommunitycouncil.org.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Locations/ralston-sports-centre-1.jpg313571Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2022-04-12 21:53:112022-04-12 21:55:04Ralston Community Sports Centre
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.”
Renfrewshire Council’s grass cutting programme will restart on Monday 4 April. The council’s teams will work to a 14-day cycle and will tackle a different area of Renfrewshire each day, although they will return the following day to finish any section that they weren’t able to complete.
This means that the teams will cut grass panels, open spaces, school playing fields, public parks, cemeteries, and provide their grass and hedge cutting assistance scheme for council house tenants, at the same time in each area.
If the teams are unable to complete an area because of the weather, theyvwill retain some of their resources to complete that area when the grass is able to be cut as normal.
Hedge cutting will continue to be provided twice a year and will operate in line with the grass cutting model, with communities seeing their first cut between May and July and their second cut between August and October.
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.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Posts/dirt-bike.jpg720720Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2022-03-31 22:06:322022-03-31 22:07:22Motorbikes on Honeybog Hill
Renfrewshire Council will be carrying out work to clean the pond within Barshaw Park, beginning on Friday 1 April.
The aim of the work is to remove the silt that has gathered in the pond over a number of years, as well as removing some invasive weed species, which will protect the health of the pond.
To do this, the council will require to drain the pond and then remove the silt, which will be kept at a location near the pond to dry out before being disposed of safely by the contractor.
There will be a fishing specialist on site to assist in keeping any fish in the pond safe and they will be stored in a bunded area within the pond until the work is complete. There are no swans nesting at the pond; so no nests will be disturbed by the work.
During the work, the pond will be fenced off to stop anyone entering the area while it is drained. The council anticipates that it will take around 3 weeks to complete the work and refill the pond to its previous level.
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.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Posts/highland-way-scaled.jpg19832560Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2022-03-21 15:30:552022-03-21 19:14:05Silent auction in aid of Ukraine
Renfrewshire Council has installed crash barriers at the south-west corner of the junction of Hawkhead Road and Glasgow Road. Ralston councillor Neill Graham has been campaigning for some time to have barriers installed at this dangerous junction. Councillor Graham is still trying to persuade the council to change the phasing of the traffic lights at the junction to avoid the current problems experienced by vehicles attempting to turn right from Hawkhead Road into Glasgow Road. One option would be the addition of a right filter light.
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
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Posts/ukraine-flag.jpg8001200Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2022-03-15 15:08:522022-03-15 15:15:12How to help Ukraine
Renfrewshire’s Big Spring Clean will take place in April. The annual event was postponed last year because of the pandemic, with Renfrewshire supporting Keep Scotland Beautiful’s Summer Clean event instead, but it is back for 2022.
Previous events have seen thousands take part in litter picks across the month of action, with the campaign’s sister event Spotless September in 2021 seeing almost 1,500 people take part in 430 litter picks.
How can you take part?
Renfrewshire Council will provide litter pickers, hoops, bibs and bags for anyone or any group wishing to take part in a litter pick, and the StreetScene team will collect the bags of litter afterwards too if you let them know where you’ve left them.
Anyone taking part should consider the health and safety measures in place during litter picks with the Wardens Service able to advise on how to take part safely, including in group settings, and people should only take part if they are comfortable doing so.
Why is it taking place?
The event forms part of the council’s £2.5million investment in the Team Up to Clean Up campaign which supports volunteers, but also invests more in roads sweeping, gully clearing, fly tipping prevention and litter picking.
The award-winning campaign created the annual Big Spring Clean and Spotless September events to encourage mass participation from the community, but the campaign continues all-year-round with the council enhancing its environmental work and supporting volunteers who want to improve their local area.
Thousands of local people have joined the campaign since its launch and everyone is welcome to take part and meet like-minded people who want to make Renfrewshire a more inviting place to live in, work and visit.
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.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Logos/Renfrewshire-CouncilLogo.jpg189267Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2022-03-10 17:52:342022-03-10 18:05:19Not Far? Leave the Car campaign
Renfrewshire Council will close at 2:30 pm on Friday 24 December 2021 and will open again at 8:45 am on Thursday 6 January 2022. However, all essential services will continue to operate.
Further details, including information on key service areas such as bin collections, leisure centre opening times and social work services, along with emergency contact numbers, can be found on the Renfrewshire Council website.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Locations/DSC_2847-scaled.jpg17002560Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2021-12-16 14:01:352021-12-16 14:09:21Renfrewshire Council services over the holiday period
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.”
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Locations/ralston-sports-centre.jpg514720Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2021-11-23 14:40:052021-11-23 14:42:31Ralston Sports Centre gym to reopen on 1st December
Renfrewshire Leisure has announced that it plans to reopen the Ralston Community Sports Centre gym soon. The following statement was posted on Renfrewshire Leisure’s Facebook page on 17 November 2021.
“We are delighted to announce we are now in the final stages of preparations to re-open the Ralston Community Sports Centre Gym. Up until now we have been unable to allow gym access due to complexities around covid operating safe, access, and the need for ventilation improvements. This work is now being finalised and we will confirm a re-open date very soon.”
Further information will be posted on this website when it becomes available.
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.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Locations/DSC_2599_2-scaled.jpg17772560Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2021-10-26 17:10:132021-10-26 18:20:42Kelburne Hockey Club CAT application update
Renfrewshire Council has commissioned a survey to help it understand the requirements and aspirations of communities which may be supported by the new Grammar School campus. To support it in providing a facility to meet the needs of the wider community, the council asks you to complete the survey questionnaire.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Simon/paisley_grammar_school.jpg434800Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2021-10-20 15:50:242021-10-20 15:54:58Paisley Grammar School community campus
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?
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Signs/road-closed.jpg6301200Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2021-10-18 08:34:302021-10-18 08:38:13Road closure: Gordon Street (southbound)
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Locations/SportsCentre-scaled.jpg17002560Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2021-10-12 20:09:132021-10-12 20:10:47The future of Ralston Sports Centre
Two meetings have recently been held about the future of Ralston Community Sports Centre, in particular about Kelburne Hockey Club’s application for a community asset transfer (CAT) of the centre to it.
The first meeting was an online event held by Kelburne Hockey Club on 30 September 2021 and the second a public meeting held by Ralston Community Council on 4 October 2021.
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).
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.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Locations/SportsCentre-scaled.jpg17002560Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2021-09-21 17:00:032021-09-21 17:00:03Public meeting about future of Ralston Sports Centre
Ralston Library is now open from 10 am until 1 pm and 2 pm until 5 pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. The library is open for a “click and collect” service and for limited browsing.
The library will be closed on Saturday 25th September for the autumn public holiday.
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.”
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Locations/CommunityCentre-scaled.jpg17002560Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2021-09-01 10:10:562021-09-01 20:28:27Contact details for Ralston Community Centre and Ralston Sports Centre
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’s Team Up To Clean Up team is holding another month-long clean up event in September 2021. Last year, despite the pandemic, 225 litter picks took place and 1,072 bags of litter were collected by volunteers and removed by the council’s StreetScene team.
Renfrewshire Council has been awarded funding from Sustrans Scotland’s “Places for Everyone” programme to look at improvements to the junction outside the main entrance to Barshaw Park, where Glasgow Road meets Arkleston Road and Hawkhead Road.
As this is a well-used route for both the park and commuting, the council wants to ensure that people can use this junction safely as a cyclist or pedestrian; so it has identified three possible options for upgrades that it would like your opinion on.
The council wants to ensure that local residents, businesses and road users have the opportunity to put forward their thoughts on the potential improvements and asks you to fill out the survey on the above web page.
The survey will run from Monday 9 August 2021 to Sunday 5 September 2021.
If you are not able to fill out the online survey, you can submit your feedback or any questions in writing to Environment and Infrastructure, Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley, PA1 1BR, or by emailing ei@renfrewshire.gov.uk.
Once it receives all submissions, the council will analyse the feedback, and this will inform any decision made around improvements to the junction.
The council will endeavour to keep you, and all interested in this project, updated regularly on the next steps.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Posts/DSC_2559-scaled.jpg17002560Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2021-08-10 19:10:122021-08-10 19:38:03Consultation on improvements to Barshaw Park road junction
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.
All residents in Scotland under the age of 22 will be eligible for free bus travel from 31 January 2022.
The Scottish Government has confirmed the timetable for the roll out of the scheme, delivered in partnership with the Improvement Service, the National Entitlement Card Programme Office and Young Scot.
Legislative changes to allow the scheme to be extended from its original commitment to provide free travel for under-19s will be introduced to the Scottish Parliament this summer.
Approximately 930,000 young people will join the third of Scotland’s population who already benefit from free bus travel through the Older and Disabled Persons Free Bus scheme.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Posts/bus-travel.jpg7981080Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2021-07-29 09:08:362021-07-29 09:08:36Free bus travel for under-22s
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 19th July 2021 till Sunday 1st 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.
The summer issue of the Ralston Community Council Newsletter is now being delivered to Ralston residents. Copies are also available in the Corner Shop on Penilee Road and a digital version is available on the website.
Can you spot the ‘deliberate’ mistake in the word search in our printed version?
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.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Logos/scottish-water-logo.png218472Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2021-06-27 13:54:522021-07-20 20:59:08Scottish Water safety and respect campaign
The TAPfit Lite exercise class that was due to be held at St Mark’s Church has been cancelled. The class was scheduled for Thursdays, starting on 10 June, but no one turned up for the first two meetings.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Posts/tapfit-flyer-2.jpg1334750Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2021-06-25 08:52:122021-07-20 20:40:37TAPfit Lite exercise class cancelled
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.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Signs/road-closed.jpg6301200Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2021-06-21 20:41:292021-06-21 20:41:29Road closure - St James Interchange
Kelburne Hockey Club has informed the community council that it intends to apply for a community asset transfer of Ralston Community Sports Centre. If this transfer goes ahead, it would mean that the hockey club would take over the management of the sports centre.
The community council has raised concerns about the lack of football facilities in the hockey club’s plan; a new synthetic hockey pitch would be built over the current synthetic football pitch and it would be unsuitable for football. In addition, the hockey club would use the facilities at times when football is currently played. The plan does include the retention of grass areas where football could be played.
We have had meetings with a local councillor and with the leader of Renfrewshire Council about the proposed application. We understand that the council is legally bound to consider this application and any other applications for community asset transfers that are submitted.
We do not have any figures about the past usage of the sports centre’s gym and football facilities, but we have requested these. We have also spoken with groups who currently use the sports centre facilities: Ralston Skills Centre, Alba Thistle and Renfrewshire Sports Association.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Locations/SportsCentre-scaled.jpg17002560Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2021-06-21 20:07:362021-07-20 21:00:53Ralston Community Sports Centre
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.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Posts/tapfit-flyer-2.jpg1334750Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2021-06-06 15:57:352021-06-09 14:31:31TAPfite Lite exercise class
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.
The Covid-19 vaccine is your best protection against Coronavirus; so when contacted for your vaccination appointment, please attend at the time stated.
Please also keep in touch with your friends and family who may need support during this time and contact Renfrewshire Council should you need support or guidance.
Here is a summary of the restrictions which apply in Level 2:
You can meet socially in groups of up to:
6 people from 3 households in your home or theirs – and you can stay overnight
6 people from 3 households in an indoor public place like a café, pub or restaurant
8 people from 8 households outdoors
Under 12s do not count towards the total number of people or households meeting outside, but do count towards household numbers indoors
You do not need to physically distance from family and friends in a private home
You can travel anywhere in Scotland in Levels 0, 1 or 2 but must not enter a Level 3 or 4 area unless for a permitted reason
You can travel to England, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands – before you travel you must check the travel rules in those countries
You can provide informal childcare, for example to look after a grandchild
Up to 50 people can attend weddings and funerals
Tradespeople can carry out any work in your home such as painting, decorating or repairing
You should work from home where possible
Places and business that can open at Level 2 include:
Cafés, pubs and restaurants
All shops and stores
All close contact services including hairdressers, barbers and beauty salons
Gyms, leisure centres and swimming pools
Tourist accommodation
Visitor attractions
Public buildings like libraries and community centres
If anyone does not have internet access, they can call 0300 300 0230.
Everyone should continue to follow the FACTS advice at all times to keep themselves and others safe and anyone with symptoms of Coronavirus should book a test immediately and self-isolate while they wait for the results.
If contacted by the Test and Protect team, please follow their instructions and self-isolate for the period requested.
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.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Locations/DSC_2767-scaled.jpg17002560Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2021-05-11 14:27:482021-05-11 14:27:48Ralston Library now open for browsing
Renfrewshire Libraries reopened on Monday 26 April on a “click and collect” basis for items and for personal computer access. Details of which services are available can be found on the Renfrewshire Council website.
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.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Locations/DSC_2767-scaled.jpg17002560Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2021-05-03 08:54:412021-05-03 09:00:17Ralston Library open again
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.
Glasgow Road, Paisley, from Lacy Street to Crossflat Crescent, westbound only (i.e. towards Paisley town centre). The closure will be in place from Monday 12th April to Sunday 18th April, 2021. This is to allow resurfacing work. Emergency and limited local access will be maintained.
Alternative route: Hawkhead Road, Barrhead Road, Lonend, 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.
All Renfrewshire libraries, including Ralston Library, are closed at the moment because of coronavirus restrictions. However Renfrewshire Libraries have recently launched a home delivery service, which will operate until the libraries are able to open again. The service is available to:
anyone over 70 years of age
anyone with a disability or medical condition which limits their ability to leave their home
pre-school or school age children (primary and secondary)
To make use of this service, you first have to register as a Delivery Service customer by phoning 0300 300 1188 or emailing libraries@renfrewshire.gov.uk.
Books can be ordered online on the Renfrewshire Libraries website, by phoning 0300 300 1188 or by emailing libraries@renfrewshire.gov.uk. You can select individual books or ask for a selection by a particular author or of a particular genre or theme. Books ordered by Ralston residents are delivered on Tuesday mornings.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Locations/DSC_2767-scaled.jpg17002560Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2021-04-02 17:08:352021-04-03 08:24:00Renfrewshire Libraries home delivery service
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.
There are an estimated 700,000 people in Scotland who care for a friend, family member or neighbour affected by a disability, physical or mental ill-health, frailty or substance misuse.
If you are aged 16 or over and provide face-to-face care for family or friends who need extra support, you are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.
You are eligible to register for vaccination at this stage if all of the following apply:
you are aged 16 to 64 years old
you provide face-to-face care and support to one or more family members, friends or neighbours
the care you provide is not part of a contract or voluntary work
if caring for someone under 18, they are affected by a disability, physical or mental ill-health, developmental condition or substance misuse
you have not already received your first coronavirus vaccination
More information and registration instructions can be found on the NHS inform website.
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.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Locations/CommunityCentre-scaled.jpg17002560Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2021-02-10 16:50:042021-02-10 16:58:54Ralston brown bin collection cancelled
Renfrewshire Council has been awarded match funding from Sustrans’ Paths for All fund for a “Smarter Choices, Smarter Places” project which will investigate the potential for using a smartphone app provided by the organisation BetterPoints Ltd.
The app challenges people to carry out their journeys through sustainable methods of transport, i.e. on foot, by cycling or on public transport, with the aim of reducing the level of carbon emissions created in Renfrewshire. The more green journeys they carry out, the more points they receive and these can be exchanged for discounts at local businesses and other rewards which would be set out at the beginning of the project.
The purpose of the app is to motivate people to make positive changes to their behaviour by travelling more sustainably and to live healthy lives – something which is incredibly important as we continue in the current pandemic.
Background
Renfrewshire Council is pursuing a programme of sustainable transport strategy initiatives in Renfrewshire, including segregated walking and cycling routes, real-time bus passenger information screens, bus priority measures and pedestrian-friendly road junction redesigns to increase the active travel options available to its population.
In light of the council’s declaration of a climate emergency in June 2019, it wants to investigate if the Better Points app would motivate and reward people for travelling more sustainably as this could contribute to its pledge to make Renfrewshire carbon neutral by 2030.
The app would be used by the general public and also by the council’s our staff members as it wants to encourage its teams to stay active and look after their health and wellbeing, particularly when the majority of staff are working from home.
What should you do?
The council’s consultant has created an online survey to see if the Better Points system could work for people in Renfrewshire. The more responses that are received, the more tailored the system would become and the greater the chance of it being a success. Therefore, the council asks that you complete the Better Points survey.
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.
The first issue of the new Ralston Community Council Newsletter will be delivered to Ralston residents this week. Some of the things you can look forward to are:
Tales of Local Heroes – who would you like to recognise in the next issue?
A card you can use to offer help to those who might need it this winter
Information about our community council, and how you can get involved
Information about things happening in our community
A recipe for a delicious festive treat
A kids’ drawing competition.
Corny Christmas jokes
A variety of puzzles
And much, much more.
Additional copies of the newsletter will be available in the Penilee Road Corner Shop and an electronic version is available on the website.
From Monday 11th January, Seedhill Road will be closed at its junction with Mill Street for approximately three months.
From Monday 8th 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.
The Scottish Government has confirmed that, from Friday 20 November at 6pm, Renfrewshire will be in Covid Protection Level 4. These measures will last for three weeks until Friday 11 December.
Essential council services are still operating during the Level 4 restrictions.
At this time, you should not host people from any other household in your home or visit people you do not live with in their home, no matter where that is – unless they are in your extended household.
You can continue to meet in a maximum group of six people from two households outside – although you must follow physical distancing.
Schools and nurseries remain open, but with additional safety measures in place
You can travel only for essential reasons and this will become law from Friday 20 November, so please do not travel outside our local authority area for any non-essential reason – and avoid car-sharing and public transport where possible.
Pubs, restaurants, cafes, close-contact retail such as hairdressers and beauty services, leisure and entertainment premises, and non-essential retail shops are closed in level 4.
Essential shops, such as supermarkets and pharmacies remain open.
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.
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.
Renfrewshire’s Community Safety Partnership has advised residents not to have firework displays or bonfires this year.
Its advice is as follows:
As Bonfire Night approaches, we continue to ask all of our communities to follow the restrictions in place for Renfrewshire to protect ourselves and others.
Unfortunately, due to the current restrictions, there will be no organised fireworks display in Renfrewshire this year.
We recognise that people may be tempted to hold their own displays. However, personal displays or bonfires can cause a safety risk if not handled correctly and we would advise that these do not take place this year.
It’s extremely important that we do all we can to keep our communities and fire service safe.
Our Wardens Service will be patrolling known hotspot areas in advance to remove any illegal bonfires being built, as well as working closely with the Scottish Fire and Rescue and Police Scotland on the night of the 5th to support their crews against any anti-social behaviour that they may encounter.
There have been several reports of adults’ bikes being stolen and car doors being tried in the Ralston area. There have also been sightings of a white van been slowly driven about in the middle of the night.
Please be vigilant: lock your car doors and make sure your valuables are secure. Please report any suspicious activity to the police.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Signs/Thief.jpg235300Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2020-11-02 11:55:542020-11-02 11:56:54Bike thefts and attempted car break-ins
During the week Monday 26 October 2020 to Friday 30 October 2020, between 10:00 am and 3:30 pm, any Renfrewshire resident aged over 65 who has yet to receive a flu vaccination can have the vaccination at the drop-in clinic at St Mirren Flu Centre, Greenhill Road, PA3 1RU.
That week was being held for rescheduled appointments, but the centre has been so well attended that it now has the capacity to welcome residents on a drop-in basis.
People over 65 can attend the drop-in, whether or not they have received a scheduled appointment letter. The last of the appointment letters will be issued by Friday 30 October. Residents who have not yet received a letter can either drop in any day between Monday and Friday or wait for their scheduled appointment in November. If you have received a letter, please bring it with you as this will help the clinic staff find your details on the system more quickly.
November will be reserved for scheduled appointments only.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Bill/stmirren-flu-centre.png5121024Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2020-10-23 09:23:192020-10-23 09:42:04Drop-in flu vaccinations for over 65s
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 26th October – 6am Friday 30th 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 2nd November – 6am Tuesday 3rd 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.
Kinpurnie Road, Paisley, between house numbers 23 and 33. The closure will be in place on Monday 2nd November from 08:00 to 18:00. This is to allow Openreach works.
Alternative route: Tylney Road, Balfron Road, Penilee Road or vice versa.
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.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Bill/P1060748-scaled.jpg19202560Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2020-08-30 09:54:152020-08-30 09:54:59Consultation on biodiversity areas in Renfrewshire
An art exhibition will be held in the Barshaw Park Peace Garden on Saturday August 22, from 10 am until 1 pm. The paintings have been done by Peace Garden volunteers, and most of them will be on sale, with the proceeds going to Friends of Barshaw Park
You can see some of the paintings in the exhibition catalogue. Most of them are framed, and the prices range from £10 to £95. If you would like to reserve any of the items, please email Friends of Barshaw Park.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Bill/CorfeCastle_2.jpg9571000Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2020-08-20 11:58:122020-08-20 12:01:40Barshaw Park art exhibition and sale
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.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Locations/DSC_2847-scaled.jpg17002560Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2020-08-10 17:11:532020-08-10 17:21:02Renfrewshire car parking charges to be reintroduced
Gartmore Road, Paisley from Hawkhead Road to Alton Road. The closure will be in place on Friday 7th August 2020 between 08:00 and 18:00. This is to allow Open Reach to have crane access to replace a defective pole.
Alternative Route: Newtyle Road, Alton Road, Lanfine Road or vice versa.
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.
Renfrewshire Council has been awarded £540,000 in funding from the Scottish Government’s Spaces for People Fund to make temporary changes in Renfrewshire aimed at making physical distancing easier for residents.
As part of the changes, the council plans to create the following nine cycleways:
Howwood to Paisley corridor (including Elderslie Gap)
Glasgow Road (West), Paisley
Barrhead Road, Paisley
Causeyside Street, Paisley
Central Paisley and West – including Ferguslie, St Mirren and Kilbarchan Rd
Inchinnan Road, Paisley
Greenock Rd, Inchinnan
Inchinnan Road, Renfrew
Paisley to Renfrew
Full details of the proposed plans can be found on Renfrewshire Council’s website. The council is inviting comments on the plans, and these must be submitted before midnight on Sunday July 26.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Locations/DSC_2847-scaled.jpg17002560Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2020-07-22 11:59:242020-07-22 12:03:29Spaces for People cycleways
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.
Residents of Roffey Park Road have raised more than £3,000 for local charities by playing street bingo during the Covid-19 lockdown.
The bingo, which has run weekly since April, was organised by Tracy Coyle, Helen Irvine and Karen Macpherson. The project was run in memory of Roffey Park Road resident Norman Tucker, who died of pancreatic cancer last year, and the last session took place on Thursday July 2. The organisers decorated the street every week with balloons and bunting and an app was used to announce the bingo numbers. Prizes, including bottles of Prosecco, were delivered to the winners’ doorsteps. Most of the sessions took place before the Clap for Carers event every Thursday evening and the final session was celebrated by a street party. Local businesses donated prizes and food for all the sessions.
The total amount raised for the charities was £3,250. At the final session, two cheques, each for £1,320, were written to the Accord and Princess of Wales hospices. A further £610 will be donated to Renfrewshire lifeline charities.
The Paisley Daily Express featured a double-page spread about the fundraising effort on July 7.
Organisers Helen Irvine, Karen Macpherson and Tracy Coyle (Photo: Pogie Manson)
Alison Scott, Ralston Community Council secretary, dressed for the occasion (Photo: Pogie Manson)
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.
Newtyle Road, Paisley, from Alton Road to Rosshall Avenue. The closure will be in place on Thursday, 2nd July 2020. This is to allow for ironwork repairs to take place.
Alternative route: Rosshall Avenue, Golf Drive or vice versa. Emergency access will be maintained.
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.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Logos/Renfrewshire-CouncilLogo.jpg189267Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2020-06-04 13:20:072020-06-04 13:27:07Renfrewshire recycling centres open again
Because of the Covid-19 emergency, the Ralston Community Games, which were due to be held on 6 June 2020, have been cancelled. We are sorry about his, but we have no option but to cancel in view of the government’s emergency measures. We hope that the emergency will be over in time for us hold community games again next year.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Locations/SportsCentre-scaled.jpg17002560Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2020-04-16 18:46:082020-04-16 18:46:08Ralston Community Games cancelled
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.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Locations/DSC_2847-scaled.jpg17002560Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2020-04-14 19:20:562023-02-10 17:45:37Coronavirus information from Renfrewshire Council
Because of the Covid-19 precautions, meetings of Ralston Community Council have been suspended until further notice. All events on the website’s events calendar have also been suspended.
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.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Locations/CommunityCentre-scaled.jpg17002560Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2019-10-04 10:49:402019-11-19 11:56:14Ralston Community Council AGM
Hawkhead Road, Paisley, from Glasgow Road to Seedhill Road. The closure will be in place from Monday, 07th October, 2019, till Sunday, 20th October, 2019. This is to allow for carriageway resurfacing works to take place.
Alternative Route: Glasgow Road, Mill Street, Seedhill Road or vice versa. Emergency and limited local access will be maintained.
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.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Locations/SportsCentre-scaled.jpg17002560Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2019-09-11 18:52:452019-11-20 14:14:13Fun & Games Day cancelled
Elections to community councils across Renfrewshire are taking place between 12 August and 13 September 2019. To be eligible, candidates must be 16 or over, live in the community council area and be registered to vote.
If you would like to stand for the Ralston Community Council, you can obtain a nomination form by contacting the council’s secretary at sec@ralstoncommunitycouncil.org.
More information about the elections can be obtained by visiting Renfrewshire Council’s website or by phoning 0141 618 7104.
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.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Bill/TugOWar.jpg30004000Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2019-08-09 14:22:072019-10-02 20:39:15Ralston Community Fun & Games Day
Work to reinstate the flat grass area within Barshaw Park has started. The work will involve the existing grass and weeds being killed using a non-selective weed killer. The area has been fenced off with signs on the fence. Once the grass and weeds have been killed, the area will be rotovated and levelled and any large stones will be removed before it is re-seeded with grass seed.
Seedhill Road, Paisley, from Mill Street to Cochran Street. The closure will be in place on Monday, 08th July 2019 till Sunday, 25th 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.
Queen Elizabeth Avenue, Hillington, from Montrose Avenue to Buccleuch Avenue. The closure will be in place on Monday, 01st July 2019 till Friday, 05th July 2019. This is to allow for carriageway resurfacing works to take place.
Alternative route: Montrose Avenue, Cameron Street, Buccleuch Avenue or Buccleuch Avenue, Cameron Street, Montrose Avenue, Watt Road. 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, 17th June 2019 till Sunday, 30th 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.
On Monday 13 May, 2019, Renfrewshire Council launched its “Our Renfrewshire” Community Survey. The survey is designed to start a conversation about the values that are most important to local people and the values and behaviours that they expect from their council.
The survey, which includes 15 simple questions, is intended to change the way the council works. Everyone who lives, works or studies in Renfrewshire is invited to take part in it.
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.
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Bill/FluteGroup.jpg30004000Bill Grayhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngBill Gray2019-05-16 13:15:242019-10-07 18:05:33Barshaw Park Peace Garden Open Afternoon
Ralston Primary School is 80 years old and having a birthday celebration on Thursday 2nd of May. All former pupils and staff are invited to an open afternoon.
Feel free to pop along anytime from 2pm until 7pm. We look forward to taking people a little trip down memory lane!
https://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Simon/Ralston_Primary_80.jpg304960Simon Hallhttps://www.ralstoncommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Images/Brian/ralston-transparent.pngSimon Hall2019-04-29 21:07:032019-05-16 13:30:57Ralston Primary School is 80!
Plans have been approved by Renfrewshire Council which could safeguard the future of one of Paisley’s best loved buildings, Thomas Coats Memorial Church. The project would see the church transformed into a world class events and entertainment venue to be used for arts performances, concerts and weddings as well as a range of community activities.
Coats Memorial Preservation Trust (CMPT) is aiming to raise the sum of £1.5 million over a 100-day campaign to fund the conversion works.
One way you can contribute is to Buy a brick for £100. Your brick will be mounted on the wall of fame within the building. The bricks are hand made from the pews by the pupils of Castlehead High School and will be engraved with your name and a short message.
The next meeting of the community council will be held on Thursday 14 February 2019 at 7:30 pm in Ralston Community Centre. The agenda for the meeting can be seen here and the minutes of the previous meeting (10 January 2019) can be seen here.
Enrolment links for Ralston activity courses
NewsWe have now received links from OneRen to enable our residents to enrol in our autumn activity courses. The programme will start on Wednesday 27 September and run for 10 weeks until Monday 4 December. Please note that you will need a payment card to pay the £30 fee to enrol on each course. Please use the link next to each course below to enrol.
To enrol on a course, you first need to enrol with OneRen then enrol for a course. To do this:
(at Ralston Community Centre)
(from 30 Sep)
Should you find your chosen course has already been filled, please let us know and we’ll try to find a solution. Please email: rccclasses23@gmail.com.
Some changes
Please note that we have had to make some changes to the initial programme that we issued previously. Specifically these are:
All classes will take place in Ralston Community Sports Centre, Penilee Road PA1 3AX (except Zumba on Thursday evenings, which will take place in Ralston Community Centre, Allanton Avenue, PA1 3BL).
We would also like to highlight that neither OneRen nor Renfrewshire Council is making any money from this collaboration with Ralston Community Council. We are grateful to OneRen for waiving all hall hire and supervisor charges for these events. All the fees you pay to OneRen for taking part in a course will be totally reimbursed to Ralston Community Council and will be used to pay the instructors. We are using our new National Lottery Community Funding to subsidise the cost of the courses.
Due to the nature of this collaborative project with OneRen and our funding constrictions, the courses are only open to residents of Ralston over 18 years of age. In addition, OneRen card holders would still require to pay the enrolment fee per course.
If you have any questions, please email us at: rccclasses23@gmail.com.
Road closure: Arkleston Road
NewsRenfrewshire Council has issued the following notice.
The following road closure is due to take place:
Arkleston Road, Paisley from Arkleston Crescent, northwards for 350m
Reason for Restriction: High friction surfacing
Alternative Routes:
North Bound Traffic
Glasgow Road, Incle Street, Weir Street, Abercorn Street, Niddry Street, Renfrew Road, Arkleston Road.
South Bound Traffic
Renfrew Road, Incle Street, Glasgow Road, Arkleston Road.
Emergency and local access will be maintained.
This closure will be in force on Saturday 16th September 2023 to Monday 18th September 2023.
Autumn activity classes
NewsRalston Community Council is delighted to announce that another programme of activity classes will be held this autumn with the help of National Lottery funding.
This time, classes will be run in partnership with OneRen and will take place in Ralston Community Sports Centre, Penilee Road, PA1 3AX (except for one class, which will take place in Ralston Community Centre, Allanton Avenue, PA1 3BL).
The programme will start on Wednesday 27 September and run for 10 weeks until Monday 4 December.
All of the excellent instructors from the spring programme have agreed to return, except for pilates, where we’re delighted to welcome Kerry Stewart as our new instructor. Each class will last for 45 minutes.
Enrolment for courses will be done online through the OneRen website. A link to the enrolment page will be available shortly and will be published on this website when it becomes available. It is hoped that enrolment will open in early September.
When you enrol, OneRen will charge a fee of £30 per 10 week course. This has been heavily discounted with the help of the funding we have secured.
Because of the nature of this collaborative project with OneRen and our funding restrictions, the classes are open only to residents of Ralston over 18 years of age. In addition, OneRen card holders will still need to pay the enrolment fee.
If a class for which you wish to enrol is full, please notify us by emailing rccclasses23@gmail.com and we will try to schedule an additional class.
The classes available in the programme are:
(from 30 Sep)
We are delighted that OneRen has agreed to open Ralston Sports Centre during weekdays again for community activities, and we would ask that you support this venture by enrolling for classes; use it or lose it!
Road closure – Penilee Road
NewsRenfrewshire Council has issued the following road closure notice.
Closure: Penilee Road, Paisley from its junction with Glasgow Road for approx. 10m.
Right Turn Ban: From Glasgow Road (westbound) to Penilee Road
Left Turn Ban: From Glasgow Road (eastbound) to Penilee Road
This will be in place on Sunday 20th August 2023.
Reason: Ironwork Repairs.
Alternative routes: Westbound; Glasgow Road – Oldhall Road – Kinpurnie Road – Penilee Road or
Eastbound; Glasgow Road – Buchlyvie Road – Auchmannoch Avenue – Penilee Road.
Road closure – Penilee Road
NewsRenfrewshire Council has issued the following road closure notice.
Closure: Penilee Road, Paisley from its junction with Glasgow Road for approx. 20m. Northbound Only.
Right Turn Ban: From Glasgow Road (westbound) to Penilee Road
Left Turn Ban: From Glasgow Road (eastbound) to Penilee Road
These will be in place from today, Friday 11th August 2023 and will remain in force until repaired (approx. 5days).
Reason: Emergency Scottish Water Works.
Alternative routes: Westbound; Glasgow Road – Oldhall Road – Kinpurnie Road – Penilee Road or
Eastbound; Glasgow Road – Buchlyvie Road – Auchmannoch Avenue – Penilee Road.
Ralston Summer Fair
NewsRalston Community Council’s Summer Fair will be held on Saturday 19 August, from 11 am till 3 pm, at Ralston Community Sports Centre. The fair will feature the following exhibits and activities:
There are still a few stalls left. If you are interested, please contact admin@ralstoncommunitycouncil.org.
Road closure: Glasgow Road
NewsGlasgow Road, Paisley (eastbound only) between Hawkhead Road and Alton Road
This closure will be in place on Saturday 12th August 2023 and Sunday 13th August 2023.
Closure reason: Ironwork repairs
Alternative route: Hawkhead Road – Hurlet Road – A736 Barrhead Road – A736 Crookston Road
Road closure: Clasgow Road
NewsRenfrewshire Council has issued the following road closure notice.
TEMPORARY ROAD CLOSURE
A761 Glasgow Road, from Hawkhead Road to East Lane
Reason for restriction: Carriageway resurfacing works
Vehicles left on the road in contravention of this notice will be moved out of the works area.
Alternative routes: Hawkhead Road, Seedhill Road, Mill Street or vice-versa.
This order will be in force on Monday 14th August 2023 until Sunday 27th August 2023. This notice will only be effective when so displayed by signs in accordance with The Traffic Signs Regulations & General Directions 2016.
Waiting and loading ban: Allanton Avenue
NewsRenfrewshire Council has issued the following temporary prohibition of waiting and loading notice.
Allanton Avenue, Paisley; full length
Reason for restriction: footway resurfacing works
Vehicles left on the road in contravention of this notice will be moved out of the works area.
This order will be in force from Monday 24th July 2023 until Friday 28th July 2023. This notice will only be effective when so displayed by signs in accordance with the Traffic Signs Regulations & General Directions 2016.
Road closure: Glasgow Road
NewsRenfrewshire Council has issued the following road closure notice.
A761 Glasgow Road, from Whitehaugh Drive to Hawkhead Road (Eastbound Only)
Reason for restriction: Carriageway resurfacing works
Vehicles left on the road in contravention of this notice will be moved out of the works area. Local and emergency access will be maintained at all times.
Alternative Routes: Mill Street, Lonend, Barrhead Road, Hawkhead Road or vice-versa.
This order will be in force on Monday 31st July 2023 until Sunday 13th August 2023. This notice will only be effective when so displayed by signs in accordance with the Traffic Signs Regulations & General Directions 2016.
Waiting and loading ban: Glasgow Road
NewsRenfrewshire Council has issued the following temporary prohibition of waiting and loading notice.
A761 Glasgow Road, from Oldhall Road to Tylney Road
Reason for restriction: footway resurfacing
Vehicles left on the road in contravention of this notice will be moved out of the works area. Local and emergency access will be maintained at all times.
This order will be in force from Monday 10th July 2023 until Sunday 23rd July 2023. This notice will only be effective when so displayed by signs in accordance with the Traffic Signs Regulations & General Directions 2016.
Ralston in Bloom planters appeal
NewsUnder our “Ralston in Bloom” initiative, the community council has installed 30 planters along Glasgow Road, from Barshaw Park to the Glasgow boundary.
We’ve planted summer bedding plants into the planters but, with the recent drought, we’re concerned that the plants might perish without water.
We’re asking the Ralston community to keep these planters watered, perhaps by emptying a bottle of water into a planter as you walk along Glasgow Road. Most of the planters are at bus stops, but there are some at various other locations
Please help to keep these planters flourishing!
Garden waste collection service
NewsAs part of Renfrewshire Council’s actions to meet the financial challenges it faces, an annual charge of £40 will be introduced from 10 July 2023 for the collection of garden waste from residents.
The council is not legally required to collect garden waste; so the decision has been taken to introduce this charge in line with two-thirds of other local authorities who offer a garden waste collection service in their areas.
Residents should apply for their permit by 25 June 2023 to ensure it is in place when the new service begins on 10 July 2023. The permit should be reapplied for annually so it is in place for the start of each financial year on 1 April. When a permit is purchased, the transaction will be logged on the council’s system and the permit will be posted to the resident.
The permit should be attached to the front panel of the bin to ensure it is collected by the council’s crews. Those with a permit should put food and garden waste into their brown bin for collection.
Anyone who does not wish to participate can continue to present their brown bin as normal with food waste only, but if garden waste is placed into the bin without a permit, then it will not be collected until the garden waste is removed or a permit is purchased.
The permit applies to one bin only; a permit must be purchased for each brown bin a resident wishes to be collected. A replacement can be provided should the resident move during the year to another address within Renfrewshire. Additional brown bins and permits can be purchased as required.
Further information on the service, including how to apply for a new or replacement permit, is available on the council’s website.
Plant sale on Saturday 13 May
NewsRalston Sports Centre CAT appeal
NewsAt the end of 2022, Kelburne Hockey Club submitted an appeal against Renfrewshire Council’s decision to reject their Community Asset Transfer request for Ralston Community Sports Centre. The Council’s CAT Review Sub-committee met on 22 March and unanimously decided to uphold the original decision to reject Kelburne’s CAT request. We believe that there will be an article about this in the Paisley Daily Express on 23 March.
Kelburne have one final option, which is to appeal to the Scottish Government against the decision. It is not yet clear whether Kelburne will pursue this option.
Once again, Ralston Community Council thanks everyone who has worked to retain this valuable asset for the benefit of our community.
Free leisure classes for adults in Ralston
NewsRalston 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.
Ralston Sports Centre CAT appeal
NewsA final decision on Kelburne Hockey Club’s appeal against Renfrewshire Council’s decision to refuse its application for a community asset transfer (CAT) of Ralston Sports Centre to the club will be made by a sub-committee of the council’s Infrastructure, Land and Environment policy board at its meeting on Wednesday 22 March 2023. The meeting will start at 14:00.
This will be an online meeting and therefore it will not be possible for the public to observe the proceedings at the council chambers. However, the meeting will be live streamed and can be accessed using this link:
https://renfrewshire.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/757069
The documents relating to the appeal can be found on the Renfrewshire Council website.
Paisley Recycling Centre closed on 13 February
NewsPaisley 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.
Household waste recycling centres
NewsRenfrewshire Couincil has isued the following information about work taking place at two of its recycling centres between 4 and 9 February.
Underwood Road, Paisley
On Saturday 4 February, there will be works at the Underwood Road site in Paisley as our contractor undertakes cable pulling works at the rear of the service area.
There will be safety cones on the main access road into the depot and the works area will be fenced off, with some of the works taking place on Monday 6 February.
Access to the recycling centre for residents will be maintained, but we would ask anyone visiting to take care when entering and leaving the site.
Middleton Road, Linwood
Following our £350,000 award from the Scottish Government’s Recycling Improvement Fund, civil engineering works are required at Linwood to facilitate the planned upgrades to the recycling infrastructure.
Therefore, the site will be closed on Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 February and residents will need to use one of our other recycling centres.
The permit application process will be updated to direct anyone in a van or car with a trailer to Underwood Road in Paisley for the duration of the works – and they will still need to apply for the permit in advance.
A member of the waste team will be on site at Linwood to advise residents of the closure if they do not know already, but signage will be on site and on Middleton Road in advance, the permit application and council website will be updated, and the closure will be advertised on the appropriate council social media channels.
We anticipate the site being open as normal on Friday 10 February.
St Mark’s yew tree
NewsThe yew tree outside St Mark’s Church has now been cut down.
Ralston activities
NewsWhen we talked with Ralston residents last year, many of you told us that you would like to see more activities taking place in Ralston. We therefore applied for funding to run a series of 10-week programs running from mid-April until the end of June 2023.
We want to add more classes, and would love to hear from instructors who would be interested in running any of the following: Pilates, Tai Chi, Zumba or Ballroom Fitness. If you could help us, please email admin@ralstoncommunitycouncil.org.
Ralston Sports Centre CAT appeal
NewsRenfrewshire Council’s Community Asset Transfer Review Sub-committee meeting, which will consider Kelburne Hockey Club’s appeal against the decision not to approve its application for a community asset transfer of Ralston Community Sports Centre to the club, is scheduled for Friday 20 January 2023 at 10:00 am.
The meeting will be held via Teams and will be webcast live. You can view the meeting on Renfrewshire Council’s website, which also contains a link to the meeting agenda.
There will not be an opportunity for Kelburne Hockey Club or members of the public to make representations at this meeting. (This is explained in the meeting procedures, on pages 7-9 of the agenda document pack.)
Roar “Talk Over Toast and Tea” at Sherwood Greenlaw Church
NewsThe charity Roar* holds “talk 0ver toast and tea” sessions at Sherwood Greenlaw Church every Friday from 9:00 am until 11:00 am. You are invited to come along for a hot drink, toast and a blether.
Roar: Connections for Life is an award-winning charity that offers a range activities for older people. You can find out more about Roar and the activities it offers on the paisley.org.uk website.
* Reaching Older Adults in Renfrewshire
Causeyside Street regeneration
NewsRenfrewshire Council has developed plans to enhance walking, cycling and public transport connections for residents, businesses and visitors on Causeyside Street. Details of the project were given in an earlier news item.
As part of its engagement with local people, the council created a concept design to visualise the plans and all stakeholders, including ward members, community councils, local partnerships and Paisley-based partners, were asked to take part in a survey. Letters were delivered directly to residents and businesses received an in-person visit. Members of the project team were also available in-person at 5 High Street on various occasions during the engagement period (11 July – 7 August 2022), while the plans were also communicated through the local media and social media.
While a large number of the responses were positive, there were also constructive points raised about how the project could be improved. The council has now modified the project to take account of this feedback. Details can be found here.
All residents and businesses on Causeyside Street will now receive a letter outlining the revised plans and key stakeholders such as bus and taxi providers, Local Partnerships and Community Councils will also be contacted directly. Awareness will also be raised through the local media and through the Council’s social media channels.
If you have any comments, please let Renfrewshire Council know by emailing ei@renfrewshire.gov.uk, calling 0300 300 0380 or, if you are not able to access the project plans online, you can write to the council at Environment and Infrastructure, Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley, PA1 1BR. You can also visit a local library to see the plans and leave your feedback.
The closing date for any comments on the final designs is Sunday 15 January 2023.
Renfrewshire Council services over the festive holiday period
NewsRenfrewshire Council will close at 2:30 pm on Friday 23 December 2022 and will open again at 8:45 am on Thursday 5 January 2023. However, all essential services will continue to operate.
Further details, including information on key service areas such as bin collections, leisure centre opening times and social work services, along with emergency contact numbers, can be found on the Renfrewshire Council website.
Scottish Water winter advice
NewsScottish Water has issued advice on how to stay safe, warm and comfortable this winter. This advice can be found on the Scottish Water website.
Heartstart training event
NewsThe community council has arranged a one-off session, given by NHS trainers for local residents, which will teach basic emergency life support. It is free and will last for 2 hours.
The training session will cover:
The session will be held from 2:00 to 4:00 pm on Sunday 29 January 2023 at St Mark’s Church, 334 Glasgow Road.
Places are limited. If you wish to secure a place, email admin@ralstoncommunitycouncil.org.
Teachers’ strike, Wednesday 7 December
NewsRenfrewshire 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.
Winter Connections
NewsRenfrewshire Council’s Winter Connections programme provides support for a network of local places across Renfrewshire where people can come together this winter to meet up.
Details of the programme, including venues and events, can be found on the Renfrewshire Council website.
Provost’s Community Awards
NewsNominations are now open for the 2023 Renfrewshire Provost’s Community Awards.
There are six categories available to nominate in and these are:
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.
Road closure: Newnham Road
NewsClosure: Newnham Road, Paisley between Woodend Drive and Rotherwick Drive (between house nos. 1-15). The closure will be in place from Monday 5 December 2022 until Friday 16 December 2022.
Closure reason: SP energy works
Alternative routes: Rotherwick Drive – Strathmore Avenue – Woodend Drive or vice versa
Treemendous
NewsRalston Primary School Christmas Fayre
NewsOpen afternoon at Whitehaugh Barracks
NewsThe 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.
RingGo parking app
NewsParking in Paisley can now be paid for online or by phone following the introduction of RingGo to car parks and on-street spaces.
Anyone parking in Paisley town centre can pay using the RingGo app, the RingGo website or by calling 0141 437 8378 – with cash payments still available from pay machines on site.
A ticket does not need to be displayed when paying by RingGo as parking attendants will check the license plate on their handheld devices, but a ticket is required when paying by cash.
More information can be found on the paisley.org.uk website and at www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/parking.
Roadworks: M8 eastbound at Junction 26
NewsAmey, 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 10th November until Thursday 24th 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 10th November and Friday 18th 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 13th November 2022, between 6am and 9pm.
Traffic wishing to leave the M8 eastbound at Junction 26 may take one of three diversions:
In addition, overnight 9pm-6am between Tuesday 15th November and Friday 18th 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 15th, Wednesday 16th and Thursday 17th 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 19th November and Wednesday 23rd 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 20th 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:
Traffic management for this roadworks scheme will be removed by 6am on Thursday 24th November 2022.
Access for emergency service vehicles will be maintained throughout these works.
Ladies’ fashion show and pop-up shop
NewsA ladies’ buffet lunch and fashion show in aid of St Mark’s Church will be held in Ralston Bowling Club on Saturday 5 November, starting at 12:30 pm. The event will include a pop-up shop where you can purchase high street brands at 50% or more off.
More details can be found in the website’s events section.
Paisley Halloween Festival
NewsPaisley 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.
McGill’s bus service cancellations
NewsMany of you will have noticed that the McGill’s bus service has been very poor recently, with lots of buses missing. McGill’s say that this is caused by a national driver shortage. Details of short notice journey cancellations can now be found on the McGill’s website.
New OneRen leisure app launched
NewsA 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.
Ralston Sports Centre CAT appeal
NewsKelburne Hockey Club has appealed against Renfrewshire Council’s decision to refuse its application for a community asset transfer (CAT) of Ralston Sports Centre to the club. The appeal will be considered by a sub-committee of the council’s Infrastructure, Land and Environment policy board.
The notice of review can be seen at Ralston_Community_Sports_Centre_-_Notice_of_Review.pdf (renfrewshire.gov.uk) Further representations (for or against the CAT application) can be made, in writing and stating your full name and address and postcode, to catreview@renfrewshire.gov.uk or by posting to CAT Review, Committee Services, Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley PAI 1TR. All further representations must be submitted by Thursday, 27 October 2022, which is 10 working days from the date of the notice of review.
The community council has been informed that copies of any previous representations will be considered when determining the review but these need to add value to what has previously been submitted. A copy of further representations received will be sent to Kelburne Hockey Club who will have a further 10 working days to submit a response.
All further representations and responses will be posted on the Council’s website: https://www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/article/4534/Community-Asset-Transfer.
General information about the asset transfer process is available at https://www.gov.scot/policies/community-empowerment/asset-transfer/ . For more information, contact communityassettransfer@renfrewshire.gov.uk or call 0300 300 0330.
OneRen’s winter programme announced
NewsOneRen (formerly Renfrewshire Leisure) has announced its winter programme. Details can be found on the OneRen website.
Not Far? Leave the Car campaign update
NewsRenfrewshire Council launched its Not Far? Leave the Car campaign in March 2022 as part of its commitment to active travel and its drive to meet its climate change aims. The campaign rewards 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.
The campaign now has nearly 1,000 members, and you are encouraged to sign up if you haven’t done so already and to encourage others across Renfrewshire to take part. The campaign is also being promoted through the Beat the Street game currently running in Paisley, which is supporting young people, their parents and carers, and the community to get active.
A recap of Not Far? Leave the Car
You can earn points by walking, wheeling, cycling or using public transport for your journeys – basically any journey that leaves the car at home.
You can use these points to collect vouchers or discounts from more than 125 local businesses in Renfrewshire – including cafes, restaurants, hairdressers, jewellers and more.
It’s a great way to support local businesses while getting healthier.
You can also donate your points to charities like St Vincent’s Hospice, ACCORD Hospice or the Scottish Wildlife Trust.
What’s going on at the moment?
16-22 September is TravelWise Week and there’s £1,300 worth of prizes on offer, including a European city break.
Eurostar top prize
Everyone who tracks a car-free trip over a mile on three days between Thursday 22 September and Wednesday 5 October – and takes a short survey to opt in – will go into the draw for a £500 travel and accommodation voucher from Eurostar, plus £300 of spending money. The winner will be announced on Thursday 6 October
Refer a friend
There are three weekly prizes of 100,000 BetterPoints (£100!) and every friend you refer, up to ten per week, will earn you an entry into the draws during September.
Car Free Day
Every car-free trip of over a mile on Thursday 22 September will earn an entry into the draw for one of two prizes of 50,000 BetterPoints.
Get involved
You can download the free BetterPoints app from Renfrewshire Council’s website.
As soon as you’re registered, you can start earning points and discounts.
Her Majesty the Queen
NewsImage: 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.
Books of condolence for the Royal Family
NewsRenfrewshire’s Provost Lorraine Cameron has expressed condolences on behalf of the people of Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire Council to the Royal Family following the death of Her Majesty The Queen. Flags are being lowered to half-mast at Renfrewshire House, Houstoun Square in Johnstone and Renfrew Town Hall.
Renfrewshire Council has announced that books of condolence will be available from Friday 9 September at Renfrewshire House, Johnstone Town Hall, Renfrew Town Hall and Tweedie Hall, Linwood, from 09.00 to 17.00 Monday to Saturday. The council will share the link to the official online book of condolence when it becomes available.
Beat the Street game
NewsFollowing 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.
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?
Need help?
For more information, visit www.beatthestreet.me/paisley.
Ralston Sports Centre CAT application refused
NewsRenfrewshire Council has refused Kelburne Hockey Club’s application for a community asset transfer (CAT) of Ralston Community Sports Centre to the club. The decision was made at the meeting of Renfrewshire Council’s CAT Panel on 30 August 2022. The reasons given for refusing the application were:
More details can be found in Renfrewshire Council’s decision notice.
A huge thank you to the community for coming together to oppose the application, for attending meetings, and for the massive amount of letters and email representations. Your collective voices have been heard! We look forward to supporting and working with OneRen to make Ralston Community Sports Centre great again.
Road closure: Tylney Road
NewsTylney 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.
Date change for Renfrewshire ILE Board August meeting
NewsThe date for the August meeting of Renfrewshire Council’s Infrastructure, Land and Environment (ILE) Policy Board has been changed from Wednesday August 24 to Wednesday August 31.
Kelburne Hockey Club’s application for a community asset transfer (CAT) of Ralston Sports Centre to the club will be considered by the ILE Policy Board at either this meeting or its meeting on Wednesday 2 November. The meetings will be held in the council chambers in Cotton Street at 1 pm. The agendas for the meetings are published a week in advance, and we will not know until the agenda for the August meeting is published which meeting will consider the application. We will publish a post on the website as soon as we know which meeting will be considering the application.
Details of the ILE Policy Board meetings can be found on the Renfrewshire Council website.
As there are only 60 places in the public seating area of the chambers, you are advised to arrive well in advance of the starting time if you wish to attend the meeting. The meeting will be live streamed and you can watch it from the following link:
https://renfrewshire.public-i.tv/core/portal/home
Ralston Summer Fair
NewsRalston 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:
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.
Penilee Road pedestrian crossing
NewsPhase 2 of the work to install the new pedestrian crossing in Penilee Road, at the junction with Kinpurnie Road, started Wednesday 3 August with physical buildouts for pedestrians. Advance warning signage will be installed during the week starting 8 August. The work is due to finish by Friday 12 August.
Ralston Sports Centre CAT representation notices
NewsFollowing 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.
Ralston Sports Centre CAT application
NewsKelburne Hockey Club’s application for a community asset transfer (CAT) of Ralston Sports Centre to the club will be considered by Renfrewshire Council’s Infrastructure, Land and Environment (ILE) Policy Board at either its August or its November meeting. These meetings will be held in the council chambers in Cotton Street at 1 pm on Wednesday 24 August and Wednesday 2 November. The agendas for the meetings are published a week in advance, and we will not know until the agenda for the August meeting is published which meeting will consider the application. We will publish a post on the website as soon as we know which meeting will be considering the application.
Details of the ILE Policy Board meetings can be found on the Renfrewshire Council website.
As there are only 60 places in the public seating area of the chambers, you are advised to arrive well in advance of the starting time if you wish to attend the meeting. The meeting will be live streamed and you can watch it from the following link:
https://renfrewshire.public-i.tv/core/portal/home
Scottish Water heatwave advice
NewsScottish 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
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:
How you can help
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
Not Far? Leave the Car campaign
NewsRenfrewshire Council launched its Not Far? Leave the Car campaign in March 2022 as part of its commitment to active travel and its drive to meet its climate change aims. The campaign rewards 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.
The campaign now has more than 750 members, and you are encouraged to sign up if you haven’t done so already and to encourage others across Renfrewshire to take part. In addition to the normal discounts and prizes, everyone who records a journey before the end of July will be entered into a draw to win a £15 voucher at Nomads’ Coffee Shop in Paisley.
More details of the campaign and a link to allow the app to be downloaded can be found on Renfrewshire Council’s website.
Causeyside Street regeneration
NewsAs part of its drive to transform Paisley town centre, Renfrewshire Council has developed plans to enhance walking, cycling and public transport connections for residents, businesses and visitors on Causeyside Street.
The council is looking to provide a safe, appealing cycle connection between Paisley Canal and Paisley Gilmour train stations, which connects into the popular National Cycle Route 7 which heads west to Johnstone and Ayr and east to Glasgow.
The council says that the proposed improvements would create a more attractive, safer public space for active travel and would provide convenient connections to public transport facilities while ensuring it retains the reflection of the town’s heritage in the bespoke pavements and carved references to Paisley’s industrial past.
The council is sharing the concept designs and asking for feedback through an online survey at www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/CauseysideStreetSurvey.
Members of the project team will be visiting all businesses on Causeyside Street in-person to discuss the plans and answer any questions, as well as being available for the public every Wednesday and Friday from 12pm-2pm at 5A High Street, Paisley during the engagement period (11 July – 7 August).
Objections to proposed CAT of Ralston Sports Centre submitted
NewsOn Friday 1 June, Ralston Community Council submitted nearly 1200 letters of objection to the proposed community asset transfer (CAT) of Ralston Community Sports Centre to Kelburne Hockey Club. The letters, which were from Ralston residents and Ralston Community Sports Centre users, were submitted to Renfrewshire Council. We know that hundreds more representations have been submitted by email. The presentation of the objections was reported by the Glasgow Evening Times.
As a community we have made the strength of our opposition abundantly clear. We want our community sports centre to remain a community asset and have also consulted on what we would like to see in the centre. We have asked to work in partnership with OneRen to return the centre’s usage to the more than 85,000 visits per year that it was pre- covid.
A decision on the CAT application will be made by Renfrewshire Council’s Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board. We have been advised that this will happen at either the August 2022 or the November 2022 meeting of the board.
The community council would like to thank the many residents who attended the public meetings to give their views on the application for the transfer.
There are many other people to thank for their ongoing support, including: Russell Findlay, MSP; Neil Bibby, MSP; Neill Graham, local councillor; Graeme Clark, local councillor; St Mark’s Church for allowing us to use it for one of the public meetings; and John and the team at Ralston Community Centre for preparing the centre for the first public meeting (and helping with leafleting). Dionne and her team at the Corner Shop did a superb job in gathering representation letters, leaflets with class choices and the signing of the petition. The biggest support in three rounds of leafleting came from Ralston Skills; a big thank-you for that and for their help with the letter collection. Penultimate thanks go to Idgraphiques and Ukprint1 for their design and printing of our leaflets.
However, the biggest thanks has to be the community who have made clear their wishes and helped with leaflet drops. Some even chapped on doors to help in the representation gathering. We couldn’t have done any more.
Ralston Sports Centre CAT request
NewsKelburne 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.
Road closure: Hawkhead Road and Barrhead Road
NewsPhase 1 – Hawkhead Road works. Works start Monday 20th June 2022.
The main Hawkhead Road works will be undertaken during the day and is expected to take 2 weeks; three weeks in total has been booked to allow for any unforeseen issues that may arise during the works.
Access for vehicles will be maintained during the works to the residents of Hawkhead Road including all side roads & associated premises within the area of resurfacing. This access will be provided from the Seedhill Road side of the works.
Access for vehicles within the works areas will be under the direction of the contractor, Finco Contracts Ltd, who will provide signage and traffic marshals who will direct you through the works to ensure your safety.
The existing road surface will be made safe with suitable ramps and signage where required.
The diversion will be:
Glasgow Road / Mill Street / Lone End / Barrhead Road and vice versa
Phase 2 – Roundabout works. Works Start Monday 20th June 2022 – overnight working 8 pm to 6 am
To minimise disruption to road users and businesses, the resurfacing of the roundabout will be undertaken as overnight works (8pm to 6am), with the roundabout reopening to traffic during the day. This section of the works is expected to take a maximum of 3 nights to complete.
The existing Hawkhead Road closure will remain in place with the addition of the following diversion:
Glasgow Road / Mill Street / Lone End / Gordon Street / Neilston Road / Caplethill Road / Grahamston Road and Vice versa.
Access to Hawkhead Estate (Ben Nevis Road) will be taken across the central reserve by means of temporary traffic measures from the Grahamston Road side of the works.
Notes on public meeting about Kelburne CAT application
NewsA 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.
Bin collection update
NewsRenfrewshire Council has changed the arrangements for bins that were due to be collected on Thursday 2 June. The council did not make this known until the morning of 2 June.
Grey bins will now be collected on Sunday 5 June. Brown bins will not be collected until the next scheduled date, Thursday 16 June.
Ralston Community Sports Centre public meeting
NewsA 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.
Barshaw Park Community Garden
NewsFriends of Barshaw Park have submitted a planning application to turn the disused donkey paddock in Barshaw Park into a community garden. The plan for the new garden has been made possible by the Royal Horticultural Society who are awarding the Friends of Barshaw Park £50,000 to create the new community garden. In addition, RHS has appointed leading garden designers to create the garden, and will support the new garden over the next 3 years with a grant of £15,000.
Community gardens can be of great value to an a local area. They can improve soil and air quality, increase biodiversity, increase economic opportunities, and improve the mental and physical health of those who use them.
Details of the application can be found on Renfrewshire Council’s website.
Ralston Community Sports Centre update
NewsKelburne 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.
Ralston Community Sports Centre
NewsUpdate on the community asset transfer application
At the community meeting about the community asset transfer (CAT) application from Kelburne Hockey Club (KHC) held on 4 October last year, an overwhelming majority of those present were opposed to the transfer of this asset.
KHC has now been granted charitable status, but its application is still to be ratified before it can even be considered by Renfrewshire Council. If it does proceed, the community council will have to work within legal guidelines to raise objections. Renfrewshire Council’s Petitions Board is also investigating the application. In addition, Gleniffer Thistle Football Club has apparently confirmed its interest in the sports centre and is likely to submit a CAT in the future. We will let you know of any developments when we hear of them.
How we can support the sports centre
The community council is preparing objections to be raised in the event of the application being validated and moving to the first stage. However we can’t fight for something that we are not using. So part of our strategy is to work with Renfrewshire Leisure (rebranded as OneRen), who are responsible for the running of the centre, to help us make full use of this resource in our community. The community council has already met with OneRen to discuss this, and we now need to hear from the community and current users.
Gym
Covid has greatly impacted on the usage of all gyms, and Ralston gym has been no exception. However, if we want to retain this gym, then the number of memberships needs to increase.
Classes
The current operating model is for the pavilion to be open in evenings and at weekends, but as soon as Covid restrictions are lifted we can arrange classes in the centre.
We can book our own self-employed instructors to run classes at the centre. Each class needs a (volunteer) class coordinator to arrange who will be attending and to confirm the time of the class with the instructor and the sports centre. So please let us know (in the comments box on this form) if this is something you would be interested in supporting.
Possible new activities
Survey form
Please let us know your suggestions, thoughts, ideas, preferred classes and times using this form. The form should be returned by 30 April 2022, either to the counter of The Corner Shop or or by email to admin@ralstoncommunitycouncil.org.
Advice about feeding foxes
NewsThe 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.”
Renfrewshire grass cutting programme
NewsRenfrewshire Council’s grass cutting programme will restart on Monday 4 April. The council’s teams will work to a 14-day cycle and will tackle a different area of Renfrewshire each day, although they will return the following day to finish any section that they weren’t able to complete.
This means that the teams will cut grass panels, open spaces, school playing fields, public parks, cemeteries, and provide their grass and hedge cutting assistance scheme for council house tenants, at the same time in each area.
If the teams are unable to complete an area because of the weather, theyvwill retain some of their resources to complete that area when the grass is able to be cut as normal.
The fortnightly timetable can be seen on the Renfrewshire Council website.
Hedge cutting will continue to be provided twice a year and will operate in line with the grass cutting model, with communities seeing their first cut between May and July and their second cut between August and October.
Motorbikes on Honeybog Hill
NewsOver 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.
Barshaw Park pond cleaning
NewsRenfrewshire Council will be carrying out work to clean the pond within Barshaw Park, beginning on Friday 1 April.
The aim of the work is to remove the silt that has gathered in the pond over a number of years, as well as removing some invasive weed species, which will protect the health of the pond.
To do this, the council will require to drain the pond and then remove the silt, which will be kept at a location near the pond to dry out before being disposed of safely by the contractor.
There will be a fishing specialist on site to assist in keeping any fish in the pond safe and they will be stored in a bunded area within the pond until the work is complete. There are no swans nesting at the pond; so no nests will be disturbed by the work.
During the work, the pond will be fenced off to stop anyone entering the area while it is drained. The council anticipates that it will take around 3 weeks to complete the work and refill the pond to its previous level.
Silent auction in aid of Ukraine
NewsThe 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.
Hawkhead Road crash barriers
NewsRenfrewshire Council has installed crash barriers at the south-west corner of the junction of Hawkhead Road and Glasgow Road. Ralston councillor Neill Graham has been campaigning for some time to have barriers installed at this dangerous junction. Councillor Graham is still trying to persuade the council to change the phasing of the traffic lights at the junction to avoid the current problems experienced by vehicles attempting to turn right from Hawkhead Road into Glasgow Road. One option would be the addition of a right filter light.
How to help Ukraine
NewsMany 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
Big Spring Clean 2022
NewsRenfrewshire’s Big Spring Clean will take place in April. The annual event was postponed last year because of the pandemic, with Renfrewshire supporting Keep Scotland Beautiful’s Summer Clean event instead, but it is back for 2022.
Previous events have seen thousands take part in litter picks across the month of action, with the campaign’s sister event Spotless September in 2021 seeing almost 1,500 people take part in 430 litter picks.
How can you take part?
Renfrewshire Council will provide litter pickers, hoops, bibs and bags for anyone or any group wishing to take part in a litter pick, and the StreetScene team will collect the bags of litter afterwards too if you let them know where you’ve left them.
To request equipment, you can call 0300 300 1375, email wardens.es@renfrewshire.gov.uk, join the Team Up to Clean Up Facebook group at www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/groups/teamuptocleanup or visit the council’s website at www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/BigSpringClean2022.
Anyone taking part should consider the health and safety measures in place during litter picks with the Wardens Service able to advise on how to take part safely, including in group settings, and people should only take part if they are comfortable doing so.
Why is it taking place?
The event forms part of the council’s £2.5million investment in the Team Up to Clean Up campaign which supports volunteers, but also invests more in roads sweeping, gully clearing, fly tipping prevention and litter picking.
The award-winning campaign created the annual Big Spring Clean and Spotless September events to encourage mass participation from the community, but the campaign continues all-year-round with the council enhancing its environmental work and supporting volunteers who want to improve their local area.
Thousands of local people have joined the campaign since its launch and everyone is welcome to take part and meet like-minded people who want to make Renfrewshire a more inviting place to live in, work and visit.
Not Far? Leave the Car campaign
NewsAs 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.
Road closure: Glasgow Road
NewsRoad closure: Glasgow Road, Paisley (Westbound Only) between Hawkhead Road and East Lane
This closure will be in force on Sunday 6th February 2022.
Closure Reason: Ironwork repairs
Alternative route: Hawkhead Road – Seedhill Road – Mill Street
Waiting and loading ban: Glasgow Road
NewsRenfrewshire 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 10th January 2022.
Renfrewshire Council services over the holiday period
NewsRenfrewshire Council will close at 2:30 pm on Friday 24 December 2021 and will open again at 8:45 am on Thursday 6 January 2022. However, all essential services will continue to operate.
Further details, including information on key service areas such as bin collections, leisure centre opening times and social work services, along with emergency contact numbers, can be found on the Renfrewshire Council website.
Ralston Sports Centre gym to reopen on 1st December
NewsRenfrewshire 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.”
Road closure: Glasgow Road
NewsRoad closure: Glasgow Road, Paisley (westbound only) between Kilnside Road and Mill Street.
This closure will be in force on Saturday 27th November 2021 and Sunday 28th November 2021.
Closure Reason: BT works.
Alternative routes: Kilnside Road – Seedhill Road – Mill Street – Glasgow Road
Scottish Water winter campaign
NewsScottish 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.
Ralston Sports Centre gym to reopen soon
NewsRenfrewshire Leisure has announced that it plans to reopen the Ralston Community Sports Centre gym soon. The following statement was posted on Renfrewshire Leisure’s Facebook page on 17 November 2021.
“We are delighted to announce we are now in the final stages of preparations to re-open the Ralston Community Sports Centre Gym. Up until now we have been unable to allow gym access due to complexities around covid operating safe, access, and the need for ventilation improvements. This work is now being finalised and we will confirm a re-open date very soon.”
Further information will be posted on this website when it becomes available.
Christmas newsletter advertising
NewsWe 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.
Road closure: Strathmore Avenue
NewsRenfrewshire Council has issued the following road closure notice.
Road Closure: Strathmore Avenue, Paisley from its junction with Woodend Drive eastwards for approx. 40m.
Kelburne Hockey Club CAT application update
NewsThe 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.
Paisley Grammar School community campus
NewsRenfrewshire Council has commissioned a survey to help it understand the requirements and aspirations of communities which may be supported by the new Grammar School campus. To support it in providing a facility to meet the needs of the wider community, the council asks you to complete the survey questionnaire.
Kelburne Hockey Club’s responses
NewsKelburne 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?
Road closure: Gordon Street (southbound)
NewsRenfrewshire Council has issued the following road closure notice.
Road Closure: Gordon Street, from Lonend to Causeyside Street (southbound)
The future of Ralston Sports Centre
NewsRalston Councillor Neill Graham has circulated a letter about the future of Ralston Community Sports Centre.
Ralston Sports Centre meetings
NewsTwo meetings have recently been held about the future of Ralston Community Sports Centre, in particular about Kelburne Hockey Club’s application for a community asset transfer (CAT) of the centre to it.
The first meeting was an online event held by Kelburne Hockey Club on 30 September 2021 and the second a public meeting held by Ralston Community Council on 4 October 2021.
Two documents relating to these meetings are now available on the website. The first contains a list of questions that were raised at the Kelburne meeting and the answers that were given. The second contains notes on the Ralston Community Council meeting.
Public meeting about future of Ralston Sports Centre
NewsKelburne 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.
Ralston Library opening hours extended
NewsRalston Library is now open from 10 am until 1 pm and 2 pm until 5 pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. The library is open for a “click and collect” service and for limited browsing.
The library will be closed on Saturday 25th September for the autumn public holiday.
Contact details for Ralston Community Centre and Ralston Sports Centre
NewsThe 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.”
Waiting and loading ban, Glasgow Road
NewsRenfrewshire Council has issued notice of the following waiting and loading ban.
Glasgow Road, Paisley – North side from the junction with Arkleston Road westwards for approx. 105m.
This closure/ban will be in force on Sunday 19th September 2021.
Reason for Restriction: Ironwork Repairs.
Renfrewshire community facilities
NewsRenfrewshire 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.
Spotless Setember event
NewsRenfrewshire Council’s Team Up To Clean Up team is holding another month-long clean up event in September 2021. Last year, despite the pandemic, 225 litter picks took place and 1,072 bags of litter were collected by volunteers and removed by the council’s StreetScene team.
Details of this year’s event, and how to take part in it, can be found on the Renfrewshire Council website.
Road closure: Buchlyvie Road
NewsRenfrewshire Council has issued the following road closure notice.
Road Closure: Buchlyvie Road, Paisley between School Road and house no.74
Consultation on improvements to Barshaw Park road junction
NewsRenfrewshire Council has been awarded funding from Sustrans Scotland’s “Places for Everyone” programme to look at improvements to the junction outside the main entrance to Barshaw Park, where Glasgow Road meets Arkleston Road and Hawkhead Road.
As this is a well-used route for both the park and commuting, the council wants to ensure that people can use this junction safely as a cyclist or pedestrian; so it has identified three possible options for upgrades that it would like your opinion on.
Option 1 – Unidirectional (2 traffic lanes going North/South)
Option 2 – Unidirectional (1 traffic lane going North/South)
Option 3 – Protected Junction
All options offer landscaping and improvements to the surrounding area around the junction.
You can see the full technical drawings on the council’s website at www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/BarshawParkJunction
The council wants to ensure that local residents, businesses and road users have the opportunity to put forward their thoughts on the potential improvements and asks you to fill out the survey on the above web page.
The survey will run from Monday 9 August 2021 to Sunday 5 September 2021.
If you are not able to fill out the online survey, you can submit your feedback or any questions in writing to Environment and Infrastructure, Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley, PA1 1BR, or by emailing ei@renfrewshire.gov.uk.
Once it receives all submissions, the council will analyse the feedback, and this will inform any decision made around improvements to the junction.
The council will endeavour to keep you, and all interested in this project, updated regularly on the next steps.
If you require further information, please email ei@renfrewshire.gov.uk.
Road closure: Renfrew Road
NewsRenfrewshire 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.
The closure starts at 8 pm.
Free bus travel for under-22s
NewsAll residents in Scotland under the age of 22 will be eligible for free bus travel from 31 January 2022.
The Scottish Government has confirmed the timetable for the roll out of the scheme, delivered in partnership with the Improvement Service, the National Entitlement Card Programme Office and Young Scot.
Legislative changes to allow the scheme to be extended from its original commitment to provide free travel for under-19s will be introduced to the Scottish Parliament this summer.
Approximately 930,000 young people will join the third of Scotland’s population who already benefit from free bus travel through the Older and Disabled Persons Free Bus scheme.
Further details can be found on the Transport Scotland website.
Road closure – A761 Glasgow Road
NewsRenfrewshire Council has issued the following road closure notice.
Temporary Road Closure: A761 Glasgow Road, Paisley, from Arkleston Road to Oldhall Road
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.
Community Council summer newsletter
NewsThe summer issue of the Ralston Community Council Newsletter is now being delivered to Ralston residents. Copies are also available in the Corner Shop on Penilee Road and a digital version is available on the website.
Can you spot the ‘deliberate’ mistake in the word search in our printed version?
Scottish Water safety and respect campaign
NewsScottish 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.
TAPfit Lite exercise class cancelled
NewsThe TAPfit Lite exercise class that was due to be held at St Mark’s Church has been cancelled. The class was scheduled for Thursdays, starting on 10 June, but no one turned up for the first two meetings.
Road closure – St James Interchange
NewsTemporary 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.
Ralston Community Sports Centre
NewsKelburne Hockey Club has informed the community council that it intends to apply for a community asset transfer of Ralston Community Sports Centre. If this transfer goes ahead, it would mean that the hockey club would take over the management of the sports centre.
The community council has raised concerns about the lack of football facilities in the hockey club’s plan; a new synthetic hockey pitch would be built over the current synthetic football pitch and it would be unsuitable for football. In addition, the hockey club would use the facilities at times when football is currently played. The plan does include the retention of grass areas where football could be played.
We have had meetings with a local councillor and with the leader of Renfrewshire Council about the proposed application. We understand that the council is legally bound to consider this application and any other applications for community asset transfers that are submitted.
We do not have any figures about the past usage of the sports centre’s gym and football facilities, but we have requested these. We have also spoken with groups who currently use the sports centre facilities: Ralston Skills Centre, Alba Thistle and Renfrewshire Sports Association.
If you have any views on the proposed transfer, please email us at admin@ralstoncommunitycouncil.org.
TAPfite Lite exercise class
NewsA 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.
Road closure – Penilee Road
NewsPenilee Road, Paisley from Arkleston Road to Kinpurnie Road.
The closure will be in force from 22:00 on Wednesday 9th June to 06:00 on Thursday 10th June, 2021. This is to allow Network Rail works.
Alternative route: Arkleston Road, Glasgow Road, Penilee Road or vice versa.
Road closure – Arkleston Road
NewsArkleston 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.
Covid Level 2 restrictions
NewsThe Scottish Government has confirmed that, from Monday May 17, Renfrewshire will be in Covid Protection Level 2.
The key restrictions are summarised below. Full details can be found at www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-protection-levels/pages/protection-level-2/.
The Covid-19 vaccine is your best protection against Coronavirus; so when contacted for your vaccination appointment, please attend at the time stated.
Please also keep in touch with your friends and family who may need support during this time and contact Renfrewshire Council should you need support or guidance.
Here is a summary of the restrictions which apply in Level 2:
For more details on how the restrictions currently in place affect Renfrewshire, please visit www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/coronavirus.
If anyone does not have internet access, they can call 0300 300 0230.
Everyone should continue to follow the FACTS advice at all times to keep themselves and others safe and anyone with symptoms of Coronavirus should book a test immediately and self-isolate while they wait for the results.
If contacted by the Test and Protect team, please follow their instructions and self-isolate for the period requested.
For further Coronavirus health advice, please visit www.nhsinform.scot/coronavirus.
Ralston Library now open for browsing
NewsFrom 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.
Ralston Library open again
NewsRenfrewshire Libraries reopened on Monday 26 April on a “click and collect” basis for items and for personal computer access. Details of which services are available can be found on the Renfrewshire Council website.
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.
Scottish Parliamentary election – polling station safety
NewsRenfrewshire 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.
Plant sale: Saturday 8th May, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
NewsNursery-grown bedding plants, pots, tubs and baskets (plants by McLaren Nurseries, Lugton)
Come along and enjoy yourself:
Where?
COVID-19 measures will be in place: masks and social distancing advised.
Road closure: Seedhill Road
NewsSeedhill 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.
Road closure: Glasgow Road
NewsGlasgow Road, Paisley, from Lacy Street to Crossflat Crescent, westbound only (i.e. towards Paisley town centre). The closure will be in place from Monday 12th April to Sunday 18th April, 2021. This is to allow resurfacing work. Emergency and limited local access will be maintained.
Alternative route: Hawkhead Road, Barrhead Road, Lonend, Mill Street.
Road closure: Glasgow Road
NewsGlasgow 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 Libraries home delivery service
NewsAll Renfrewshire libraries, including Ralston Library, are closed at the moment because of coronavirus restrictions. However Renfrewshire Libraries have recently launched a home delivery service, which will operate until the libraries are able to open again. The service is available to:
To make use of this service, you first have to register as a Delivery Service customer by phoning 0300 300 1188 or emailing libraries@renfrewshire.gov.uk.
Books can be ordered online on the Renfrewshire Libraries website, by phoning 0300 300 1188 or by emailing libraries@renfrewshire.gov.uk. You can select individual books or ask for a selection by a particular author or of a particular genre or theme. Books ordered by Ralston residents are delivered on Tuesday mornings.
More details can be found on the Renfrewshire Libraries website.
Renfrewshire grass cutting programme
NewsRenfrewshire 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
COVID-19 vaccination for carers
NewsThere are an estimated 700,000 people in Scotland who care for a friend, family member or neighbour affected by a disability, physical or mental ill-health, frailty or substance misuse.
If you are aged 16 or over and provide face-to-face care for family or friends who need extra support, you are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.
You are eligible to register for vaccination at this stage if all of the following apply:
More information and registration instructions can be found on the NHS inform website.
Ralston brown bin collection cancelled
NewsBecause 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.
Consultation: Smarter Choices, Smarter Places
NewsRenfrewshire Council has been awarded match funding from Sustrans’ Paths for All fund for a “Smarter Choices, Smarter Places” project which will investigate the potential for using a smartphone app provided by the organisation BetterPoints Ltd.
The app challenges people to carry out their journeys through sustainable methods of transport, i.e. on foot, by cycling or on public transport, with the aim of reducing the level of carbon emissions created in Renfrewshire. The more green journeys they carry out, the more points they receive and these can be exchanged for discounts at local businesses and other rewards which would be set out at the beginning of the project.
The purpose of the app is to motivate people to make positive changes to their behaviour by travelling more sustainably and to live healthy lives – something which is incredibly important as we continue in the current pandemic.
Background
Renfrewshire Council is pursuing a programme of sustainable transport strategy initiatives in Renfrewshire, including segregated walking and cycling routes, real-time bus passenger information screens, bus priority measures and pedestrian-friendly road junction redesigns to increase the active travel options available to its population.
In light of the council’s declaration of a climate emergency in June 2019, it wants to investigate if the Better Points app would motivate and reward people for travelling more sustainably as this could contribute to its pledge to make Renfrewshire carbon neutral by 2030.
The app would be used by the general public and also by the council’s our staff members as it wants to encourage its teams to stay active and look after their health and wellbeing, particularly when the majority of staff are working from home.
What should you do?
The council’s consultant has created an online survey to see if the Better Points system could work for people in Renfrewshire. The more responses that are received, the more tailored the system would become and the greater the chance of it being a success. Therefore, the council asks that you complete the Better Points survey.
More information about the survey can be found on the Renfrewshire Council website.
The survey will close on Friday 26 February 2021.
If you have any problems in submitting your response, please email ei@renfrewshire.gov.uk.
St Mark’s Christmas lights
NewsThe 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.
Community Council newsletter
NewsThe first issue of the new Ralston Community Council Newsletter will be delivered to Ralston residents this week. Some of the things you can look forward to are:
Additional copies of the newsletter will be available in the Penilee Road Corner Shop and an electronic version is available on the website.
Road closure: Seedhill Road
NewsFrom Monday 11th January, Seedhill Road will be closed at its junction with Mill Street for approximately three months.
From Monday 8th 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.
Covid Level 4 restrictions
NewsThe Scottish Government has confirmed that, from Friday 20 November at 6pm, Renfrewshire will be in Covid Protection Level 4. These measures will last for three weeks until Friday 11 December.
Essential council services are still operating during the Level 4 restrictions.
The key restrictions are summarised below. Full details can be found at www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-protection-levels/pages/protection-level-4/.
Level 4 restrictions include:
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.
Renfrewshire Covid restrictions
NewsRenfrewshire 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:
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.
Bonfire Night advice
NewsRenfrewshire’s Community Safety Partnership has advised residents not to have firework displays or bonfires this year.
Its advice is as follows:
As Bonfire Night approaches, we continue to ask all of our communities to follow the restrictions in place for Renfrewshire to protect ourselves and others.
Unfortunately, due to the current restrictions, there will be no organised fireworks display in Renfrewshire this year.
We recognise that people may be tempted to hold their own displays. However, personal displays or bonfires can cause a safety risk if not handled correctly and we would advise that these do not take place this year.
It’s extremely important that we do all we can to keep our communities and fire service safe.
Our Wardens Service will be patrolling known hotspot areas in advance to remove any illegal bonfires being built, as well as working closely with the Scottish Fire and Rescue and Police Scotland on the night of the 5th to support their crews against any anti-social behaviour that they may encounter.
For more information on fireworks and bonfire safety, visit: www.firescotland.gov.uk/your-safety
Bike thefts and attempted car break-ins
NewsPlease be vigilant: lock your car doors and make sure your valuables are secure. Please report any suspicious activity to the police.
Drop-in flu vaccinations for over 65s
NewsDuring the week Monday 26 October 2020 to Friday 30 October 2020, between 10:00 am and 3:30 pm, any Renfrewshire resident aged over 65 who has yet to receive a flu vaccination can have the vaccination at the drop-in clinic at St Mirren Flu Centre, Greenhill Road, PA3 1RU.
That week was being held for rescheduled appointments, but the centre has been so well attended that it now has the capacity to welcome residents on a drop-in basis.
People over 65 can attend the drop-in, whether or not they have received a scheduled appointment letter. The last of the appointment letters will be issued by Friday 30 October. Residents who have not yet received a letter can either drop in any day between Monday and Friday or wait for their scheduled appointment in November. If you have received a letter, please bring it with you as this will help the clinic staff find your details on the system more quickly.
November will be reserved for scheduled appointments only.
More details can be found on the Renfrewshire Health & Social Care Partnership website.
M8 Junction 26 slip road maintenance
NewsEssential 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.
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.
Road closure: Kinpurnie Road
NewsKinpurnie Road, Paisley, between house numbers 23 and 33. The closure will be in place on Monday 2nd November from 08:00 to 18:00. This is to allow Openreach works.
Alternative route: Tylney Road, Balfron Road, Penilee Road or vice versa.
Consultation on biodiversity areas in Renfrewshire
NewsRenfrewshire 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.
Barshaw Park art exhibition and sale
NewsAn art exhibition will be held in the Barshaw Park Peace Garden on Saturday August 22, from 10 am until 1 pm. The paintings have been done by Peace Garden volunteers, and most of them will be on sale, with the proceeds going to Friends of Barshaw Park
You can see some of the paintings in the exhibition catalogue. Most of them are framed, and the prices range from £10 to £95. If you would like to reserve any of the items, please email Friends of Barshaw Park.
Renfrewshire car parking charges to be reintroduced
NewsRenfrewshire 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.
Road closure: Gartmore Road
NewsGartmore Road, Paisley from Hawkhead Road to Alton Road. The closure will be in place on Friday 7th August 2020 between 08:00 and 18:00. This is to allow Open Reach to have crane access to replace a defective pole.
Alternative Route: Newtyle Road, Alton Road, Lanfine Road or vice versa.
Roffey Park fundraising update
NewsMorrisons 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.
Spaces for People cycleways
NewsRenfrewshire Council has been awarded £540,000 in funding from the Scottish Government’s Spaces for People Fund to make temporary changes in Renfrewshire aimed at making physical distancing easier for residents.
As part of the changes, the council plans to create the following nine cycleways:
Full details of the proposed plans can be found on Renfrewshire Council’s website. The council is inviting comments on the plans, and these must be submitted before midnight on Sunday July 26.
Ralston library reopening
NewsFollowing 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.
Roffey Park Road fundraising success
NewsResidents of Roffey Park Road have raised more than £3,000 for local charities by playing street bingo during the Covid-19 lockdown.
The bingo, which has run weekly since April, was organised by Tracy Coyle, Helen Irvine and Karen Macpherson. The project was run in memory of Roffey Park Road resident Norman Tucker, who died of pancreatic cancer last year, and the last session took place on Thursday July 2. The organisers decorated the street every week with balloons and bunting and an app was used to announce the bingo numbers. Prizes, including bottles of Prosecco, were delivered to the winners’ doorsteps. Most of the sessions took place before the Clap for Carers event every Thursday evening and the final session was celebrated by a street party. Local businesses donated prizes and food for all the sessions.
The total amount raised for the charities was £3,250. At the final session, two cheques, each for £1,320, were written to the Accord and Princess of Wales hospices. A further £610 will be donated to Renfrewshire lifeline charities.
The Paisley Daily Express featured a double-page spread about the fundraising effort on July 7.
Organisers Helen Irvine, Karen Macpherson and Tracy Coyle (Photo: Pogie Manson)
Alison Scott, Ralston Community Council secretary, dressed for the occasion (Photo: Pogie Manson)
Footway widening: Penilee Road
NewsRenfrewshire 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.
Road closure: Newtyle Road
NewsNewtyle Road, Paisley, from Alton Road to Rosshall Avenue. The closure will be in place on Thursday, 2nd July 2020. This is to allow for ironwork repairs to take place.
Alternative route: Rosshall Avenue, Golf Drive or vice versa. Emergency access will be maintained.
Renfrewshire recycling centres open again
NewsRenfrewshire 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.
Ralston Community Games cancelled
NewsBecause of the Covid-19 emergency, the Ralston Community Games, which were due to be held on 6 June 2020, have been cancelled. We are sorry about his, but we have no option but to cancel in view of the government’s emergency measures. We hope that the emergency will be over in time for us hold community games again next year.
Coronavirus information from Renfrewshire Council
NewsRenfrewshire 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.
Covid-19
NewsBecause of the Covid-19 precautions, meetings of Ralston Community Council have been suspended until further notice. All events on the website’s events calendar have also been suspended.
Please watch the website for updates.
Hawkhead & Dykebar Hospital housing developments
NewsThe 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.
Geocache treasure hunt
NewsA Geocache treasure hunt will be held at St Mark’s Church, Oldhall, on Saturday, 26 October, 2019, from 1 until 4 pm.
Details can be found on the treasure hunt flyer.
Ralston Community Council AGM
NewsThe 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.
Road closure: Hawkhead Road
NewsHawkhead Road, Paisley, from Glasgow Road to Seedhill Road. The closure will be in place from Monday, 07th October, 2019, till Sunday, 20th October, 2019. This is to allow for carriageway resurfacing works to take place.
Alternative Route: Glasgow Road, Mill Street, Seedhill Road or vice versa. Emergency and limited local access will be maintained.
Fun & Games Day cancelled
NewsThe 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.
Community Council elections
NewsElections to community councils across Renfrewshire are taking place between 12 August and 13 September 2019. To be eligible, candidates must be 16 or over, live in the community council area and be registered to vote.
If you would like to stand for the Ralston Community Council, you can obtain a nomination form by contacting the council’s secretary at sec@ralstoncommunitycouncil.org.
More information about the elections can be obtained by visiting Renfrewshire Council’s website or by phoning 0141 618 7104.
Ralston Community Fun & Games Day
NewsRalston 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.
Barshaw Park grass reinstatement
NewsWork to reinstate the flat grass area within Barshaw Park has started. The work will involve the existing grass and weeds being killed using a non-selective weed killer. The area has been fenced off with signs on the fence. Once the grass and weeds have been killed, the area will be rotovated and levelled and any large stones will be removed before it is re-seeded with grass seed.
Road closure: Seedhill Road
NewsSeedhill Road, Paisley, from Mill Street to Cochran Street. The closure will be in place on Monday, 08th July 2019 till Sunday, 25th 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.
Road closure: Queen Elizabeth Avenue, Hillington
NewsQueen Elizabeth Avenue, Hillington, from Montrose Avenue to Buccleuch Avenue. The closure will be in place on Monday, 01st July 2019 till Friday, 05th July 2019. This is to allow for carriageway resurfacing works to take place.
Alternative route: Montrose Avenue, Cameron Street, Buccleuch Avenue or Buccleuch Avenue, Cameron Street, Montrose Avenue, Watt Road. Emergency and limited local access will be maintained.
Road closure: Penilee Road, June 2019
NewsPenilee Road, Paisley, from School Road to Arkleston Road. The closure will be in place on Monday, 17th June 2019 till Sunday, 30th 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.
“Our Renfrewshire” Community Survey
NewsOn Monday 13 May, 2019, Renfrewshire Council launched its “Our Renfrewshire” Community Survey. The survey is designed to start a conversation about the values that are most important to local people and the values and behaviours that they expect from their council.
The survey, which includes 15 simple questions, is intended to change the way the council works. Everyone who lives, works or studies in Renfrewshire is invited to take part in it.
More details about the survey can be found here.
To take part in the survey, click here.
Barshaw Park Peace Garden Open Afternoon
NewsThe 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:
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.
Ralston Primary School is 80!
NewsRalston Primary School is 80 years old and having a birthday celebration on Thursday 2nd of May. All former pupils and staff are invited to an open afternoon.
Feel free to pop along anytime from 2pm until 7pm. We look forward to taking people a little trip down memory lane!
Plant Sale: Saturday 11 May, 11:00am – 2:00pm
NewsNursery Grown Bedding Plants, Pots & Tubs, Baskets (plants by McLaren Nurseries, Lugton, Past Barrhead).
Come along and enjoy yourself:
Where?
Save Coats Memorial
NewsPlans have been approved by Renfrewshire Council which could safeguard the future of one of Paisley’s best loved buildings, Thomas Coats Memorial Church. The project would see the church transformed into a world class events and entertainment venue to be used for arts performances, concerts and weddings as well as a range of community activities.
Coats Memorial Preservation Trust (CMPT) is aiming to raise the sum of £1.5 million over a 100-day campaign to fund the conversion works.
One way you can contribute is to Buy a brick for £100. Your brick will be mounted on the wall of fame within the building. The bricks are hand made from the pews by the pupils of Castlehead High School and will be engraved with your name and a short message.
For more information, see the Save Coats Memorial website: https://100daystosavecoatsmemorial.com/
Barshaw Park Clean-up: Sunday 14 April, 3:30pm – 4:30pm
NewsWe’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/
Road closure (night time only) – Monday 1 April to Friday 5 April: Penilee Road
NewsBetween 10pm and 6am on Monday 1 April until Friday 5 April, Penilee Road will be closed from Arkleston Road to Corse Road.
This is to allow for Scottish Water works to take place.
Alternative route: Penilee Road, Arkleston Road, Glasgow Road, Penilee Road or Vice Versa (this is a night closure only).
Road closure – Monday 1 April to Friday 5 April: Buchlyvie Road
NewsOn 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
Next Meeting 11 April 2019
NewsThe next meeting will be held at Ralston Community Centre at 7:30pm.
Agenda Minutes of March meeting
February 2019 meeting
NewsThe next meeting of the community council will be held on Thursday 14 February 2019 at 7:30 pm in Ralston Community Centre. The agenda for the meeting can be seen here and the minutes of the previous meeting (10 January 2019) can be seen here.