Sunday 24 February 2013

The week ahead...

Monday
At work in the morning. I have a couple of meetings in the Council lined up for the afternoon and a meeting of the Kelburn Action Group in the evening.
Tuesday
A private appointment in the first part of the morning then off to work for the rest of the day. In the evening I have a surgery in St Francis Primary School from 6.00 to 7.00 and then a meeting of Kilmacolm Community Council at 7.30.
Wednesday
Work in the morning then my weekly meetings with the Chief Executive and the Labour Group in the afternoon.
Thursday
Morning at work. In the afternoon I have a Members' briefing on equality at 2.00 and a meeting of the CHCP Sub-Committee at 3.00. In the evening I hope to attend a meeting of Port Glasgow West Community Council.
Friday
Spending the morning at an Inverclyde Alliance workshop and the afternoon at work.

Sunday 17 February 2013

The week ahead...

Monday
A full day at work. In the evening I will be chairing a meeting of the Port Glasgow Community Campus Working Group.
Tuesday
At work until late afternoon then down to Greenock for a meeting of the River Clyde Homes Board.
Wednesday
At work in the morning. In the afternoon I have my weekly meeting with the Chief Executive and the Labour Group. In the evening I will be attending a meeting of Port Glasgow East Community Council.
Thursday
A full day at work. In the evening I will be attending a meeting of Slaemuir Tenants' and Residents' Association.
Friday
Through at the COSLA Leaders' Meeting in Edinburgh much of the day. In the evening I will be attending the Inverclyde Sports Personality Awards in Greenock Town Hall.

Friday 15 February 2013

Ravenscraig Recreation Centre...

The Administration's decision to include the closure of Ravenscraig Recreation Centre in our budget savings proposals yesterday has met with some criticism.

The closure of the Centre was put forward as an option by Officers and Inverclyde Leisure, who manage leisure facilities on the Council's behalf, on the basis that they consider the centre to be under used and in need of significant investment, which cannot be justified given the current usage levels.

The Administration could have found the money to keep the Centre open by introducing a charge for swimming for Inverclyde school children and over 60s, as the SNP proposed.  We decided against this as we felt that the free swimming policy benefits a far larger number of people across Inverclyde.

Following representations from users of the Centre and Larkfield, Branchton and Braeside Community Council I gave an undertaking at yesterday's Council meeting that we would look again to see if we can  find a way to keep the Centre open, subject of course to the condition that an alternative saving or additional income would require to be identified.

The scheduled closure date is 31 March 2014. Today I asked the Chief Executive to have a detailed report prepared, which will allow the Administration to make a more considered decision on it future.

Sunday 10 February 2013

The week ahead...

Monday
Morning at work. Due to visit a local employer in the early afternoon then Council pre-agenda at 4.00, followed by a meeting with an officer.
Tuesday
A full day at work. I have a surgery at 6.00 in Boglestone Community Centre.
Wednesday
At work in the morning. In the afternoon I have my weekly meeting with the Chief Executive. This is followed by a reception at the new Beacon Arts Centre and then the weekly meeting of the Labour Group.
Thursday
At work until mid afternoon. At 4.00 there is a special meeting of the Council to agree budgets for the next three years and next year's Council Tax figure.
Friday
A full day at work.

Monday 4 February 2013

Statement on proposed Central Gourock development plan...

After a meeting of the Council's Central Gourock Working Group tonight lasting one and a half hours, two of Gourock's three Councillors - Ronnie Ahlfeld (Independent) and Terry Loughran (Labour) - have re-affirmed their support for the proposed £4.7m development plan for Central Gourock, including a new one-way system for Kempock Street.

Gourock' s other Councillor, Chris McEleny (SNP), continues to have reservations about the scheme and refused to give it his backing.

As a majority of Gourock's Councillors are behind the scheme in principle, I will be recommending to the Administration Group on Wednesday night that we proceed as previously agreed by the Council, subject of course to approval being granted by the Planning Board.

Sunday 3 February 2013

The week ahead...

Monday
At work until mid afternoon then down to Greenock for a meeting of the Central Gourock Working Group. In the evening I will be attending a mass to mark Catholic Education Week in Holy Family Church, Port Glasgow.
Tuesday
At work in the morning. In the afternoon I will be chairing a meeting of the Policy & Resources Committee and then attending a meeting of River Clyde Homes Audit Committee.
Wednesday
After the morning at work I have meetings in the Council at 1.00 (officers), 2.00 (consultants), 3.00 (Chief Executive) and 4.30 (Labour Group). The Labour Group is likely to be another long one as we try to agree our budget proposals in advance of the Special Council meeting on 14 February.
Thursday
A full day at work.
Friday
Another full day at work.