Erskine: The town that wants better facilities and a new heart

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Erskine is at the centre of a levelling up storm as residents say it’s become the forgotten town of Renfrewshire.And people who care deeply about its future say: “What we have for a town of 16,000 people is a disgrace.“There’s no social structure . . .

not even a restaurant or coffee shop.”Senior figures in the town have now spelled it out for the Renfrewshire Council leadership to actually do something.Don't miss the latest headlines from around Renfrewshire.

Sign up to our newsletters here.Ironically they say having the current leader Iain Nicolson as a local councillor appears to have had a negative impact.An expensive probe nearly six years ago recommended how it could be transformed, but nothing has been acted on.Jim O’Neil, treasurer and spokesman of Erskine Community Council, said: “This really is a plea from Erskine, the facts speak for themselves.

We are poorly represented.”The former village became a “new” community in 1970 as farmland was dug up for public housing, with many people shifting from Glasgow.It was originally conceived to have a 30,000 population with schools, community facilities, businesses, a town centre and even a harbour on the River Clyde.But that never happened and over the decades private housing estates were developed, without the services most towns enjoy.Jim is among a number of members of the community council and other residents who have blasted Renfrewshire Council for failing Erskine.He said: “There is no industry here, no jobs, no proper park.“They just build houses, which fill with children, and yet there is little for the youth to do.“There is no social structure for a town of 16,000 people, not even a restaurant, cafe or coffee shop.“We have nearly ten per cent of the population