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.
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.
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.
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.
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.