Plans for winter light show in Barrhead put on ice following funding cut
BY DREW SANDELANDS, LOCAL DEMOCRACY REPORTER
Plans for a winter light show in Barrhead and a revamp of Cowan Park bowling club have suffered a blow after a Scottish Government funding cut.
Five projects – including new CCTV cameras in Barrhead – had been recommended for cash from a government pot but East Renfrewshire Council’s allocation has shrunk by almost £270,000.
The council had expected to receive £385,000 in 2024/25 from the Government’s place based investment programme – part of £2.34 million over five years from 2021/22.
But councils were told they won’t receive their full allocation this year, with no funding for new projects. East Renfrewshire has asked for £116,495 for two ongoing schemes.
Officials, who say they will try to help partners find alternative money, have also warned uncertainty over other funds could lead to job losses.
They said the closure of the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund, scheduled for March next year, would cause “significant disruption”, with 20 posts at risk if the programme isn’t continued.
On the place based investment programme, officials added it is “disappointing” that East Renfrewshire won’t receive the full allocation.
In a report, they said the decision would “impact on our ability to support regeneration projects identified as priorities by our local communities”. The Scottish Government has previously said it faces “an extremely challenging budgetary position”.
Bids for the anticipated 2024/25 funding were received from the council, with seven projects recommended. The five which can no longer be funded under the programme include a £123,000 plan to refurbish Cowan Park bowling club, creating a community sports hub.
Barrhead Business Improvement District had been in line to receive £31,000 for a Christmas lighting project, known as the Winter Wonderland light show.
Other schemes included plans for CCTV cameras at Aurs Road and Springfield Road in Barrhead and Maidenhill, Newton Mearns, and work to improve Clarkston town centre, with shop front refurbishments. Lamp post ‘welcome banners’ in Barrhead town centre were set to get funding too.
East Renfrewshire’s economic development team “will continue to provide assistance to find alternative funds”, but it “will be difficult, given the public sector’s wider fiscal challenges”.
One of the projects which could be completed is an upgrade to Thornliebank playing fields to improve access, including new handrails and a disabled parking space.
The other scheme would see Clarkston-based Off Grid Community provide a greenhouse and wood burning stove. The centre supports the neurodivergent community in an outdoor setting.
Jobs at risk without the UK Government funding include employability officers, project managers and jobs in the private and third sector.
The report stated there are “real concerns that valuable expertise, experience, and local knowledge will be lost if the council is not in a position to extend these temporary contracts, as staff will seek alternative employment”. Officials also said funding has been “paused” on the Scottish Government’s regeneration grant scheme and a vacant and derelict land programme, which have “played a crucial role” in recent years. They have brought “buildings or areas of land that have been subject to decades of decay and decline back into use”.
The report added the “continued withdrawal” of these programmes will “lead to the stagnation of local authority regeneration efforts” and the “potential loss of projects that will transform communities”.
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