The main contact number for Renfrewshire Council Environmental Services is: 0141 889 7995

The number above will take you through to a number of different sections within environmental services where you can get advice, information, reporting and complain about problems with the environment in Linwood.

Issues that have been raised in Linwood are, dog fouling, fly tipping, industrial waste (dumped rubble), vandalism, hazardous waste and general information about waste and recycling for Linwood.

Many issues of waste and environment have laws that back them up and are in place to protect communities, making fly tipping illegal, dog fouling a chargable offence and also making your local authority responsible as well individuals for protecting and preventing as well as cleaning the mess up.

To visit the Renfrewshire Council Environmental Services Pages Click Here.

for more information on fly tipping have a look at the SEPA web site.

A Quick Introduction… Linwood Community Network!

As part of the Linwood Fairshare Project, Renfrewshire Environmental Trust (RET) have employed Scott Duncan as the Community Development Officer to complete the work that had previously been carried out by the Sustainable Communities Project within Linwood.

This Blog Site will provive information and links for people and organsiations in Linwood Renfrewshire, as a means of sharing information and creating a platform for further Community Learning and Development in the community.

Events in and around Linwood will also be posted on the site.

If you have anything to share with people in Linwood then feel free to leave a message, please have a look at our comments policy!

Renfrewshire Council for Voluntary Services (RCVS) – supporting the voluntary sector in Renfrewshire

RCVS are a support organisation for the voluntary and third sector in Renfrewshire Scotland.

They work to increase capacity within the sector and highlight areas of opportunity for growth and the key issues within its membership.

The RCVS acts as an umbrella organisation for its members which range in size and even more vastly in the services that they deliver across Renfrewshire.

Key areas of the RCVS work are in providing a platform for dialogue and discusion of the key issues facing its members at a local level as well as highlighting issues at a more strategic and national level.

One of the activities of RCVS has been the weekly newsletter (email), which provides access to quick links to sector relevant information.

A number of key networks exist within the CVS where specific needs have been recognised within the membership, including the Disability Network (Renfrewshire CAN) and the Social Economy Network.

As with any other voluntary sector organisation at the moment, RCVS are having to pull on its purse strings due to short cash flow, this will hopefully be a temporary measure as they have provided some great work at a local level for some of the members.

Resources are scarce just now within the sector as well within Local Authorities (such as Renfrewshire) and cuts are being considered just now as a means of sustainability for the organisation.

To find out more about the RCVS membership and what they do, visit the RCVS Web Site.

RCVS Contact Telephone Number:
0141 587 2487

Linwood Active

As another year begins Linwood Active are in full flow with their fundraising efforts. We are still collecting clothing and textiles from the local community as well as having a great response from Paisley and Johnstone community too.

Our textile bins will be in place by the 15th March and will be sited at Linwood Sports Centre (available 24hr) and also at the Linwood Recycling Centre Middleton Road (Summer Monday to Thursday 8.30am – 8.30pm, Friday 9.30am – 7.30pm, Saturday and Sunday 9am – 5pm) (Winter Monday to Sunday 8am – 5pm)

“Many thanks to City Reclamation for their support on this project”

A new initiative that Linwood Active are taking on is recycling of Mobile Phones. We are asking the community to keep their old mobile phones until they receive one of our new pre paid envelopes or if you come to any of our events we would be happy to accept the phones there.

Linwood Active in conjunction with Linwood Community Centre Management Committee is holding a FUN DAY on the 5th April in Linwood Community Centre 11am until 1pm. There will be a bouncy castle, face painting, table top sales, music, arts n crafts, refreshments and more….

Linwood Active would like to announce that our Annual General Meeting will be held on Thursday 20th March, Linwood Tweedie Hall Room 1 at 6.45pm – 7.15pm followed by our regular meeting 7.15pm – 8.45pm. All are very welcome to attend.

Yes it’s that time of year again and we are planning our annual ‘SPRING CLEAN CAMPAIGN’.
Date: Sunday 27th April 2007
Time: 1pm – 3pm
Meeting Point: Entrance to Cycle path across from East Fulton Primary School

All are welcome to attend, gloves, bags, pickers and refreshments are provided. Please wear suitable clothing and footwear.

On a last note Linwood Active would like to express their thanks to Tom, the Linwood Sucks editor. As well as bringing many serious issues to the attention of the local residents, council and media he provided a launch pad for us. If it had not been for Tom, Linwood Active would never have been. With his support we are now launching a new website www.linwoodactive.co.uk which everyone can check our progress.

Linwood Active

(Post Supported by EnterprisingEnergy.com)

I though you might like to know about the It’s Your Community programme, which The Conservation Foundation manages in partnership with O2. Up to 60 projects from all over the UK receive awards of up to £1000 every month. The awards are designed to support individuals and groups seeking to make a positive change in their community.

We would be delighted if you could tell your members about It’s Your Community, we welcome applications from all kinds of community projects.

Full details are available on www.itsyourcommunity.co.uk .

The online application process is very straightforward with an answer within 28 working days. If you would like to include something in your newsletter or on your website, I’d be very glad to supply copy (and pictures).

All kinds of fantastic community driven projects have been supported by It’s Your Community including a good number from Scotland.

The 470 plus projects so far awarded throughout the UK represent different aspects of our communities – social, cultural, sporting and environmental – and they all share the common theme of bringing people together to make a difference.

The Third Sector and Local Government

Conference 4 March 2008 Royal College of Physicians, Queen Street, Edinburgh 10.30 – 15.30 (Buffet lunch included) Local government has a history of strong relationships with the Third Sector and acknowledges that partnerships are crucial if we are to deliver vital public services in local communities.

The current environment, with the development of the Concordat, the consequent removal of ring-fencing and the shift towards Single Outcome Agreements, signals a significant change in the way the public sector will work to deliver efficient and effective services. A time of change will bring opportunities and challenges for the Third Sector and government.

The conference aims to contribute to the development of a stronger, long-term relationship between local government and the Third Sector as we work together in the new environment to ensure best practice in the development and delivery of local services. The keynote speaker will be John Swinney, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth.

Speakers include: JOHN SWINNEY MSP Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, Scottish Government CLLR HARRY McGUIGAN COSLA Spokesperson for Community Well-Being & Safety ALISON ELLIOT Convener, SCVO STEPHEN MAXWELL Associate Director, SCVO GAVIN WHITEFIELD Chair, SOLACE Scotland SHULAH ALLAN Director, EVOC MARTIN CREWE Director, Barnardo’s Scotland SCVO members can attend this event at a specially discounted rate.

SCOTTISH ACCESSIBLE INFORMATION FORUM – Accessibility In Practice

It’s not possible to predict the needs of everyone who accesses electronic information. However, by making some key adjustments to the way we produce electronic information, it is possible to make it flexible enough to suit a wide range of needs.

Following the success of SAIF’s Beyond the Web seminar, we are now running a series of short practical training sessions in Glasgow. It doesn’t matter if you attended Beyond the Web; these practical courses are for anyone who wants to make sure that their electronic communication is accessible.

If you communicate with service users or colleagues via email, email attachments, email bulletins, websites, website downloads, intranet or interactive surveys then some or all of these courses might interest you.

The courses are:

Internet Security And Accessibility: Monday 3rd March, 1pm – 4 pm, Scottish Consumer Council, Royal Exchange House, Glasgow

Creating Accessible Documents: Wednesday 12th March, 1pm – 4 pm, University of Strathclyde, Graham Hills Building, Glasgow

Sending Accessible Emails: Friday 14th March, 1pm – 4 pm, University of Strathclyde, Graham Hills Building, Glasgow

Testing The Accessibility Of Websites: Wednesday 19th March, 1pm – 4 pm, University of Strathclyde, Graham Hills Building, Glasgow

Programmes and booking forms (in PDF and Word format) can be downloaded from our website www.saifscotland.org.uk

Booking forms should be returned no later than Friday 22nd February.

Unique Service – Telephone Counselling Service in Scotland for People with a disability

The Edinburgh-based Lothian Centre for Integrated Living (LCIL) has launched a unique telephone counselling service for disabled people. “Your Call” is open to all disabled people in Scotland over the age of 18 and to their immediate family members.

“What makes the service special is that the counsellors are all disabled people themselves, providing them with an understanding of what it means to live as a disabled person in Scotland,” explains service co-ordinator Ian Fuller. The majority of the volunteer counsellors staffing the service have trained over a four year period to Diploma standard in counselling.

Mr Fuller continues: “Counselling can help people who are trying to come to terms with painful events from their past, or who need support through a current crisis or change in lifestyle. It can also help people who are struggling to manage difficult feelings such as depression or anxiety, or who are seeking direction and meaning in their lives. A counsellor will not judge you, nor tell you how to live your life. Instead, he or she is trained to help you explore your own situation and to support you to find your own way forward.”

Anyone wishing to contact the “Your Call” appointments line should phone 08088 010362 between 11am and 3pm on Mondays and Tuesdays, and between 11am and 1pm on Wednesdays.

Calls are free from home telephones and from some, but not all, mobile networks.
The number is withheld and so will not appear on phone bills.

West of Scotland Racial Equality Council (WSREC) is a voluntary organisation and registered as a charity limited by Guarantee as of 1st April 2006.

WSREC is one of the four Racial Equality Councils in Scotland and its area of operation covers almost half of Scotland with twelve local authorities. The area has the largest Minority Ethnic population with many diverse needs including the specific needs of Asylum Seeker/Refugee and new Central & Eastern European communities in conjunction with the establish minority ethnic communities.

WSREC services focus on Promoting Good Community Relations between all residents in our area of operation. Other activities include advocacy, policy and community development, campaigning and promoting equality and justice for all and advice. Addtionally WSREC has diversified into equality and diversity Training and Consultancy.

£7.2 MILLION FROM LLOYDS TSB GROUP FOR SCOTTISH CHARITIES

The four Lloyds TSB Foundations across the UK will receive £37.1 million this year from the Lloyds TSB Group following its annual results announced on Friday, 22 February 2008. £7.2 million is for work in Scotland, and will benefit charities supporting people who are disadvantaged or marginalised.

Mary Craig, Deputy Chief Executive for Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland, said: “This is fantastic news for the charities we fund, many of whom are working at a grassroots level. In 2007 we made awards of just under £7 million, and the £7.2 million we’ll receive this year means we can continue to invest in helping charities make a difference at the heart of our local communities.”

The independently run Lloyds TSB Foundations receive one per cent of the Lloyds TSB Group’s pre-tax profits, averaged over three years, in lieu of shareholder dividend to distribute to local charities throughout the UK. The four Foundations have distributed over £330 million since 1987, and the Foundation for Scotland is Scotland’s largest independent grantmaking trust.

(Posted by SD Enterprise)