Group is caught in red-tape wrangle

Linwood War Memorial Association’s (LWMA) bid to get a permanent monument installed to honour our war heroes has stalled.

The group had previously applied for the community asset transfer (CAT) of a patch of woodland at the junction of Bridge Street and the A761 under the Community Empowerment Act.

However, LWMA has been told that the legislation does not allow for ownership to pass to a charity.

The association is now seeking to lease the land from Renfrewshire Council. Joan Mellville, LWMA chair, said: “Like many of these things, there are processes and procedures to comply with – all of which take time.

“We hope to have the lease signed very soon.”

The association needs to have signed the lease before they can submit a planning application for the land.

And in the course of its preparations for an eventual planning application, it has had environmental surveys carried out.

A tree survey has shown that of the 52 trees at the site, only five are in a ‘good’ condition while 26 are classified as being in ‘poor’ condition – many with diseases meaning they will need to be felled. The remaining 21 trees are classified as ‘fair’ but a number of them will require work to improve their condition.

“This is a huge blow to us,” Joan commented.

“We had hoped to be able to retain all of the trees and now we will have the added cost of removing, repairing and replanting.

“More critically, the positioning of the memorial’s raised space may need to be adjusted to ensure that we protect the five good trees.”

A habitat survey found the invasive weed, Japanese Knotweed, at the riverside.

This is likely to incur the LWMA further cost to ensure its removal and future maintenance to avoid it spreading.

LMWA is hopeful that grant money from the council will be available to help them clear the weed.