It’s time for council to listen to people

South Lanarkshire has elected a new council but the major issues remain.

Far too often local people have no say in major decisions which affect their communities.

In talking to local Green activists this is certainly the case in Rutherglen and Cambuslang, with several examples of local wishes being ignored.

One example I have mentioned previously is the Cathkin Relief Road which has recently opened after several delays.

As Greens we have long recognised that continually building more and more roads only leads to higher traffic levels in the long term.

The local community opposed the building of this road, preferring to keep their local park, but their wishes were ignored.

Local Green activist Laura Martin brought another example to my attention recently, this time from Halfway and Drumsagard.

The area has seen a large increase in population yet local facilities have lagged behind.

Recent projections estimate that the three current secondary schools in the area will be over capacity within the next decade and all three schools are poorly located for serving the area. The local community has demanded a new secondary school be built, but the previous council seemed content to bus children to Uddingston rather than listen to the concern of the local community.

Yet another example is in the continued decline of Cambuslang Main Street.

Like many other main streets, it has suffered from the rapid growth of out-oftown shopping centres and the move towards online trading.

However, these trends only emphasise the need for councils to be proactive to preserve our local shopping streets rather than stand by and watch them decline.

The local community have begun to rally to reverse this decline and I call on the new SNP administration in South Lanarkshire to support them in their efforts.