Another Town.

Renfrew one day, Paisley the next… I’m at the second of our community planning local conferences today and again there is hefty debate going on at the workshop tables. The first session this morning involved identifying the key assets in the area – of course a difficult task when your looking at the centre of Paisley which includes many of the historic building which are front and centre in the emerging bid for the city of culture 2021 http://www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/webcontent/home/services/council+and+government/council+information,+performance+and+statistics/news+-+recent+releases/ce-news-heritageasset-jan14

What’s really positive is that no one appears negative regards this proposal – most are in fact thinking about what role they could play in promoting this agenda to those they engage with. There is even some discussions which lean toward how local ‘Ambassadors’ could help engage their own communities.

By the way we’ve had some excellent ‘chairing’ today from Emma and Sharon from the Star Project http://www.star-project.org.uk This well known Community organisation supports people in the North End of Paisley. They support individuals and families through a diverse programme of services and activities rooted in genuine positive relationships with a holistic approach to their needs and aspirations. More power to them…

All the best

Alan

A Half Pipe to Happiness…

It’s the first of Renfrewshire’s local CPP events today – kicking off in the Renfrew Town Hall and looking at the Renfrew and Gallowhill area. Workshops are underway and at the moment everyone is hunched over maps of the local area identifying local landmarks, community hubs and where community groups are active. There is a hub-bub of noise and quite a few laughs but everyone is taking the challenge seriously. The identification of what’s truly important to local people and local organisations is a key task for partners and the information being pulled together today is extremely valuable.

What is very clear is that there is already fantastic community initiatives in place in this area. One that is represented today is 30 Acres ( http://www.sk8loc8.com/skateparks/1807/30-acres-renfrew ) a skatepark initiative in Renfrew. The park was Built in 2010 by Gravity Skateparks and four years later is still well utilised and draws skaters from all over. This initiative was led by local people and local people are still benefiting from the investment.

It takes a lot of time, energy and commitment to work toward improving things in your neighbourhood. With everything else you have to do on daily basis it’s sometimes hard to find the time to fit in volunteering. Today in Renfrew Town Hall a lot of people are giving their time, energy and commitment…hard work but not without a few smiles.

All the best

Alan

Keeping the conversation going… #mpowren

Everyone in Renfrewshire is invited to take part in a series of local events to plan local life over the next ten years.

Five Renfrewshire ‘2023’ events will give you the chance to meet your public services, including Renfrewshire Council, the police and the health service, and discuss how to work with them to improve life in your community.

The events will cover a wide range of issues including: children and young people; health and care services; jobs and business; the environment; and making communities safe, strong and confident. Each event will focus on what these mean for specific areas.

You can also find out about what’s going on in their area and discover opportunities for volunteering, charity work and ways to get involved with other community groups and activities.

Renfrewshire 2023 events are happening throughout the area:

Renfrew and Gallowhill 2023 – Wed 27 March, 9.45am – 2.45pm, Renfrew Town Hall
Paisley 2023 – Mon 31 March, 9.45am – 2.45pm and 29 April, 5.15pm – 9pm, Paisley Town Hall
Houston, Crosslee, Bishopton, Erskine, Langbank and Linwood 2023 – Weds 2 April, 9.45am – 2.45pm, Cornerstone Centre, Bishopton
Johnstone and the Villages 2023 – Thurs 24 April, 9.45am – 2.45pm, Johnstone Community Sports Complex (formerly the McMaster Centre)

The Renfrewshire 2023 events are being run by Renfrewshire Community Planning Partnership, which brings together Renfrewshire’s public services, community organisations, charities and businesses with the common aim of making Renfrewshire a fairer place where people, communities and businesses thrive.

It is important to book a place. Anyone interested in coming to any of the Renfrewshire 2023 events can phone 0141 618 7353 or email chiefexec@renfrewshire.gov.uk.

Councillor Mark Macmillan, Chair of the Renfrewshire Community Planning Partnership said:

“We’re hoping for a great turnout at these events. It’s a great opportunity for people to get close to public services in their area. Working together, we can build the kind of local services and strong communities that we want to see developing over the next ten years.

“There are people throughout Renfrewshire who are already committing time, skills and energy to develop their communities. We want to support them and to encourage more groups and individual residents to get involved.”