Disastrous charges
Since November, the current SNP minority administration in Renfrewshire have been sleepwalking into promoting the disastrous policy of introducing car parking charges into Johnstone and Renfrew town centres.
This will devastate local businesses and encourage prospective shoppers from the villages in my ward, like Kilbarchan, Howwood, and Lochwinnoch, to simply stay on the A737 and head on to Braehead – where parking is free.
I say sleepwalking because first the policy was introduced at the Environment and Infrastructure Board on November 8, 2017, by the SNP administration without any consultation with either the Johnstone Community Council, the Johnstone Business Consortium or Johnstone councillors.
By December 21, 2017, at the full council, it became apparent that to ignore the demand for consultation would be to court disaster, therefore, it was passed as policy with all party support that a “proper consultation” would take place.
At the full council meeting on June 28, I moved that the final decision on the car parking charges policy go to full council in September rather than the August meeting of the Environment and Infrastructure Board, for approval, to allow all Johnstone councillors to have their say on this very controversial policy.
Councillor Derek Bibby seconded my motion, but on a technicality we had to move the Suspension of Standing Orders and get two thirds of all councillors to agree to get my motion discussed. That is 29 members.
Despite not getting the two thirds, we did get the support of 24 councillors. This is a decisive majority of all Renfrewshire councillors of all parties – except the SNP – who believe that it is time for this controversial policy to be subject to the scrutiny of all eight Johnstone and seven Renfrew councillors and not just the one Renfrew and three Johnstone councillors who happen to be on the Environment and Infrastructure Board.
Recently, my old friend Ian Blackford MP led the SNP MPs out of the Commons as they rightly felt that Scotland’s voice was being denied.
Can I ask the leader of the council why he is denying Johnstone’s voice in the Chambers of Renfrewshire Council? Councillor Andy Doig Independent Johnstone North, Kilbarchan, Howwood and Lochwinnoch Ward
This will devastate local businesses and encourage shoppers to head to Braehead