ON Friday a house building firm promised a “major economic boost” to Renfrewshire’s largest town after consent was given for a £17 million housing development on the site where St Mirren Football Club’s home once stood.
AS Homes said its 130-unit plans for Love Street in Paisley, vacated by the club for a site in nearby Greenhill Road, would create jobs and provide “much-needed” new social housing.
The firm is one of the largest developers in the area, with construction set to begin on more than 350 properties throughout the local authority.
The development serves to highlight some of the key issues for voters in Renfrewshire on May 4 – jobs, affordable homes, development and renewal.
With one-time textile capital Paisley at its centre and the smaller towns of Renfrew, Johnstone and Erskine within its bounds, the region also includes farmland and a number of villages. The geography poses some challenges for service delivery. Transport is a bugbear for those without a car, as a result of years of shrinking bus services, while the very poor state of some key roads – such as those connecting rural communities – is another issue driving council taxpayers round the bend. A series of recent controversies have also raged around housebuilding in the greenbelt.
While many parts are affluent, such as the villages of Lochwinnoch, Kilbarchan and Bishopton, the area also includes Ferguslie Park, rated the most deprived community in the country.
Local champions such as SWIFT, a grassroots group that empowers the women of Ferguslie Park, have hit out at the tag, disputing the ranking and celebrating the community's strong social networks.
However, the fact remains that high levels of need persist in many areas of Renfrewshire, something the next council administration will be challenged to tackle.
The current Labour administration invested £6 million in a Tackling Poverty programme designed to help thousands of people change their lives.
Meanwhile, the council has lodged an ambitious bid for the title of UK City of Culture in 2021 in an attempt to attract the inward investment it believes can turn fortunes around. Benefits are also expected to follow from the area’s involvement in the £1.13 billion Glasgow City Region City Deal.
Outgoing council leader Mark Macmillan, who is not running again, says his team has “prioritised education, defended frontline services and produced the lowest-ever level of youth unemployment in Renfrewshire”.
Macmillan is not the only well-known face set to leave the council, with former leader Brian Lawson, who headed the SNP group for six of his 25 years in local office, also choosing not to put himself forward in the Ralston area again.
The St Mirren fan exits as his party attempt to regain control of the 40-member council, running more candidates than their Labour rivals.
They include long-serving councillors Kenny and Mags MacLaren, who both represent Paisley North West and have been pushing hard for the preservation and rejuvenation of some of the town’s historic buildings.
While scaffolding went up days ago on one neglected property, the historic fire station on Gordon Street, the future of many others remains in doubt, including the former Territorial Army premises neighbouring the town’s museum.
Now SNP group leader Kenny MacLaren has pledged to bring about “a fresh start for Renfrewshire” if voters back the party, and accused Labour of having “failed Renfrewshire” and wasting money on the closing and re-opening of civic amenity sites. He said: “They have run out of ideas and have slashed core services like decent roads and a clean environment.”
However, the group will have to do without long-term member Andy Doig, who was deselected following a row over email comments and is now standing as an independent while his wife Audrey continues with the SNP.
Meanwhile, after having Ross Greer elected to Holyrood on the West Scotland regional list, the Scottish Greens are pushing hard to break through at council level.
Leading candidate Sarah Anderson, 37, is a disability rights campaigner and is fighting in four-member ward nine, which takes in Johnstone North, Kilbarchan, Howwood and Lochwinnoch. She said: “My hope is that with my personal experience of dealing with the challenges disabled people face, the council will soon make decisions that better reflect and address the diversity of needs the people of Renfrewshire have.”
Former Tory leader Annabel Goldie lives in the region, with her party fielding 12 hopefuls, including 26-year-old Neill Graham, who early this month had to issue an apology for “misjudgements” after asking people to “like” an image on Facebook of the Parachute Regiment on Bloody Sunday.
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