The council needs to stop taking a back seat
Councillor urges rethink over installation of community bench
Council bosses are being urged to cut out the red tape and let a community bench be installed.
Pupils from Linwood High have made a park bench which they wanted to gift to the community.
They approached Linwood Community Council who were happy to accept the bench and agreed with Renfrewshire Council it could be installed in Kintyre Park.
However, they were told there would be conditions attached with the responsibility for transporting, fixing and maintaining the bench falling to the community council.
And the community council said it doesn’t have the resources to do that.
They appealed for help on Facebook as the bench needs to be out of the school by the end of term.
It read: “The bench is a very generous gift from the Kintyre Base pupils at Linwood High. Doing good for your community should not be this complicated.”
Local councillor Scott Kerr has called on the council to sort it out.
He said: “This situation strikes me of unnecessary bureaucracy from the council, over what should be a heartwarming story.
“The local pupils have carried out an extremely nice gesture for the community but, along with the community council, they continue to face many obstacles in their way.
“I hope that Renfrewshire Council can come back to the table with the community council in order to help them meet the costs of the bench at Kintyre Park.
“This sort of gesture should be welcomed by the council and I will be pressing for a solution as soon as possible.”
A spokesperson for Renfrewshire Council said: “The council receives many requests each year from the public regarding benches and responsibility for the installation and maintenance lies with the applicant.
“We are happy to grant permission for the placing of the bench at Kintyre Park and to assist with transportation.”