In February, Renfrewshire Council will meet to vote upon proposals concerning the Household Waste Recycling Centres in Linwood, Johnstone, Renfrew and Erskine.  The plans include removing the staff from these centres, meaning the only manned centre will be at Underwood Lane in Paisley. As a result of the sites being unmanned, items such as furniture, white goods and wood will no longer be accepted at any site other than Underwood Lane.

 The Community Council is writing to Renfrewshire Council to express grave concern about these proposals, the effect on the area, and on the health of the current, and possibly future, residents of Linwood.

There are obvious objections about difficulties posed to residents who wish to use the dump but might need help to do so. They will either have to go to Underwood Lane, or pay for a special uplift. It is almost certain we will see an increase in fly tipping in the area, and also vandalism on the site itself, which is supposed to have CCTV, but that CCTV is apparently frequently out of order… due to vandalism. There are also concerns that, given the situation of the site, unscrupulous illegal industrial dumping is a possibility. As has been seen in recent years in Linwood, clearing of such substances from land takes time and is extremely costly, not to say hazardous to health, and the proximity of the new school to the site throws another worry into the mix.

The Community Council would like to invite everyone in Linwood to sign this petition expressing our united opposition to these plans. We hope the decision makers will give our opposition the consideration our community deserves.