Riverside plans move closer
I was delighted to see a major project, which will help transform Renfrewshire’s waterfront and create hundreds of muchneeded jobs, take a big step forward in the past week.
My colleagues on the council’s leadership board approved the business case for the Clyde Waterfront and Renfrew Riverside Project.
That project will see a new two-lane opening bridge built over the Clyde, connecting Renfrew and the wider area with Glasgow and West Dunbartonshire.
It will also see improved walking and cycling connections between Renfrew and Yoker train station, as well as a new road through Renfrew to help link the town and new bridge with the Advanced Manufacturing District Scotland (AMIDS) being built beside Glasgow Airport.
The project is being delivered through the Glasgow City Region City Deal – with funding from the Scottish and UK governments.
The business case estimates 700 new and existing jobs will be needed to complete construction of the project which is ready to start this spring and should take three years to complete.
Local companies will be encouraged to apply for subcontracts as part of the work, while other community benefits will include apprenticeships, work experience and school visits for local young people.
We know the past year has been tough for our local businesses but Renfrewshire is fortunate to be home to a number of major projects which can help drive our economic recovery.
The work on the riverside is strategically important to open up access to AMIDS, which will make Renfrewshire the home of Scotland’s manufacturing sector.
Work on the district’s transport infrastructure in the area around Abbotsinch Road is due to complete in the summer, with construction now under way on the first tenants.
And in Paisley town centre, construction will start in the coming months on the two biggest projects in our major investment in the town’s historic venues – at Paisley Museum and Paisley Town Hall.
I am confident our delivery of this long-planned investment in the area’s infrastructure
– old and new – will stand Renfrewshire in good stead as we start to emerge from the pandemic.
Today is the last chance for residents of Gallowhill to take part in Covid-19 testing in their community.
A mobile test unit has been in the area for the past week, for anyone who lives or goes to school in Gallowhill without symptoms of the virus.
Gallowhill has had higherthan-average covid rates of late and the test unit is aimed at bringing them down.
We know people can spread the virus without knowing they have it – so getting tested will help protect your loved ones and community.
Working with the health authorities, we hope to be able to bring asymptomatic test units to other areas in Renfrewshire as required in the weeks and months ahead.
The unit will be in Montgomery Road (at the car parks of the Martyrs’ Sandyford Church and Gallowhill Court high flats) until 6pm tonight.
If you haven’t been down yet, please take the chance to do so today.