The week ahead...

Monday
I have a morning meeting with officers followed by a visit to the WHOOPI event in Greenock Town Hall. In the evening I will be attending meetings of the Kelburn Action Group and Port Glasgow West Community Council.
Tuesday
I have a lunch time meeting with officers. In the evening I have a surgery in Kilmacolm followed by meetings of Park Farm TARA and Kilmacolm Community Council.
Wednesday
In the afternoon I have my weekly meetings with the Chief Executive and Labour Group.
Thursday
In the morning I am attending a presentation at Newark Primary School on Rights Respecting Schools. In the afternoon I have several meetings including the Environment & Regeneration Committee.
Friday
I am through in Edinburgh at COSLA for most of the day.

My latest Greenock Telegraph column...

The Council’s new decriminalised parking scheme finally went live on Monday 6 October and it is fair to say that the public reaction, not unexpectedly, has been mixed.

It is worth recalling that the Council introduced this scheme following the problems caused by the unilateral decision of Police Scotland to withdraw its traffic wardens from Inverclyde in July 2011 to save money. It soon became evident that due to the lack of parking enforcement a minority of motorists felt they could park where they wanted and for as long as they wanted.

The Council therefore took the reluctant decision to develop proposals for a decriminalised parking scheme for approval by the Scottish Government.  Professional consultants with experience of similar schemes across the UK were engaged to design the scheme for central Greenock.

Following extensive public consultation and a review of the proposals by an independent expert the final scheme was approved by the Scottish Government and the Council.

The aim of the parking scheme is not, as some would have you believe, to make money. Any money raised through parking charges and penalties will go towards the costs of running the scheme. The Council will not make a profit from it.

The objectives of the scheme are to make Greenock Town Centre work better for local residents and businesses and to make our streets safer for motorists and pedestrians.

While a great deal of thought went into designing the scheme even the professionals were not able to anticipate in advance how motorists would react to the introduction of new parking restrictions and charges, and to the enforcement of existing traffic regulations that had not been consistently enforced for over three years.

It is probably true to say that in some respects the new scheme has been too successful in that more motorists have moved out of the inner town centre than was necessary. While it is still early days it is clear that changes are required to the scheme to ensure that visitors to the town centre have enough time to shop and that there is sufficient turnover of spaces so that other visitors are not dissuaded from coming into the town.

It is also important that we ensure that public car parks are used effectively. While we want to have sufficient spaces for shoppers it is equally important that car parks don’t lie half full with all day parkers clogging up streets on the periphery of the town centre.

As a listening Council we have pledged that we will review the operation of the scheme within 12 months. Where we identify specific issues that need to be addressed more quickly however, we will take action.

Officers will be bringing an update report to the Environment & Regeneration Committee on 30 October, which will give elected members the opportunity to consider changes to the scheme. 

On Saturday morning I attended a service in Greenock’s Westburn Church to celebrate the life of Jill Jones, Head Teacher of Kilmacolm Primary School.

Jill was an inspirational and highly respected teacher and Head Teacher and a great friend to many. She will be sorely missed by everyone within the school community and the wider education community in Inverclyde.

 My deepest condolences go to her loved ones.

The week ahead...

Monday
I have a morning meeting with a local business.
Tuesday
In the evening I have meetings of the River Clyde Homes Board and Audit & Finance Committee.
Wednesday
In the afternoon I have my weekly meetings with the Chief Executive and Labour Group.
Thursday
In the afternoon I will be attending a meeting of the Community Health & Care Partnership Sub-Committee. In the evening I will be attending the Slaemuir Tenants' & Residents' Association.
Friday
No Council commitments at this stage.

The week ahead...

Monday
I will be chairing a meeting of the Inverclyde Alliance Board in the afternoon. In the evening I will be attending a meeting of the Woodhall Task Group.
Tuesday
My only commitment at this time is an evening surgery in Boglestone Community Centre.
Wednesday
In the afternoon I have my weekly meetings with the Chief Executive and Labour Group. In the evening I will be attending the annual Garden Fest Awards.
Thursday
A busy afternoon with meetings of the Strategic Leadership Forum, Local Police & Fire Scrutiny Sub-Committee and the full Council. In the evening I will be attending a dinner for former employees of the Council.
Friday
In the morning I have a meeting at River Clyde Homes in my capacity as chair of the Audit & Finance Committee. In the afternoon I am speaking at a 'Mental Health Awareness Day' event.

Welcome for new heating systems for Park Farm homes...

I am delighted by the news that River Clyde Homes has teamed up with Carillion to deliver a gas supply to 83 tenanted homes in the Park Farm area of my ward paving the way for the installation of new modern and efficient gas heating systems. Home owners in the area will also have the opportunity to connect to the gas main so they can install their own gas heating systems.

Tenants' representatives and local councillors like myself have been lobbying for this for a number of years and it is pleasing that RCH management have found a cost effective way to deliver what tenants have been asking for.

I look forward to this initiative being rolled out to other areas of Inverclyde currently without a gas mains supply.