Yahoo News How the Aurs Road City Deal project is benefitting Newton Mearns and Barrhead
The council has helped local causes secure nearly £8,000 creating new jobs and work placements through the Aurs Road City Deal project.
The project, by civil engineering firm Graham on behalf of East Renfrewshire Council, aims to improve Aurs Road between Barrhead and Newton Mearns from a winding, single carriage road to a safer, straighter road.
There will be a new active travel route and waterside promenade.
Graham's contributions to the community include a £3,000 donation to Include Me 2 Club, a Barrhead-based charity assisting children, young people, and adults with additional needs, and £4,187 to Work East Ren to fund a Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) course to upskill people to access opportunities in the construction sector.
The firm also provided a £500 contribution to the Young Enterprise Scotland awards event, as well as work opportunities for schools and young individuals.
Additionally, three local formerly unemployed individuals have secured positions at the Graham Aurs Road site via Work East Ren.
Owen O'Donnell, East Renfrewshire council leader, said: "Large-scale projects such as the transformation of Aurs Road offer the opportunity to deliver wider benefits for our communities.
"I’m delighted that the team from GRAHAM have really embraced this ethos and are already delivering significant community benefits including jobs for local residents, work placements, career events and donations to valued local charities such as Include Me 2 Club.”
Douglas Jupp from Graham said: "At GRAHAM we strive to make a difference by leaving a positive lasting impact on the wider community, people and environment in which we work.
"Delivery of Community Benefits at the Aurs Road project has been a great success thanks to collaboration with local services such as Work East Ren, where their knowledge of the local labour market helped ensure site vacancies were filled by local people."
Local groups are encouraged to add their wishes to the community benefit wish list on the council’s website at https://www.eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk/procurement.
This ensures suppliers of major contracts in the area support projects directly requested by communities.
Funding for the £22.68 million Aurs Road transformation is provided through the Glasgow City Region City Deal, with funding provided by the UK and Scottish governments, and Transport Scotland through Sustrans' Places for Everyone programme, the Scottish Government's Bridge Fund and developer contributions from new house building projects in the area.
