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.

* Reaching Older Adults in Renfrewshire

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.

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

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.

Places are limited. If you wish to secure a place, email admin@ralstoncommunitycouncil.org.

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.

Details of the programme, including venues and events, can be found on the Renfrewshire Council website.

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