Council leader: We are listening to groups

Ensuring communities benefit from Renfrewshire’s £ 274million City Deal projects was high on the list of topics discussed at Paisley North Community Council.

Renfrewshire Council leader Iain Nicolson went along to the meeting as part of his effort to visit community c o u n c i l s a c ross the region.

He popped into Beechwood Community Centre in Shortroods.

City Deal employment opportunities, engagement with the council and grass c u t t i n g p ro g rammes were all on the agenda, which was well attended by councillors for the area.

Councillor Nicolson said: “When we were elected last year I made a pledge to continue listening to communities and responding direct to their concerns and that is why I’ve been attending community council meetings.

“I can hear for myself the issues and also where we can work more closely together to improve the quality of life for people.

“Being in close proximity to the airport, the investment in the City Deal projects will bring hundreds of jobs to the area and the investment in the National Manufacturing Institute for Scotland will also create many training opportunities, so we want to make sure we capitalise on this, so everyone can share in the benefit these developments will bring.

“We want to support communities to take pride in their place, tackle the issues that matter to them and have community backing.

“By hearing first hand their experiences and ideas, this gives us a great foundation to build on and I look forward to continuing these conversations as we move forward.”