An eyesore abandoned shop unit in Linwood has recently been cleaned up and made secure from antisocial behavior.
Councillor Robert Innes has been working with Renfrewshire Council’s Environmental Taskforce and Street Scene teams in an effort to get the ‘top shops’, cleaned up.
The business unit has been lying open and there has been reports of anti-social behaviour taking place in the abandoned premises and in and around the surrounding, which is just off Clippens Road.
The unit of shops itself had many excess overflowing bins and several cases of fly tipping in the back car park.
However, the environmental team has now cleared the area, removing waste, excess bins and larger dumped goods. The abandoned property was visited by Environmental Health and has now been boarded up with no access for trespassers.
Councillor Innes has also been working with the council’s Street Scene team and an effort is now being made to remove all the graffiti on the shop shutters.
Photo: Cllr Robert Innes at the shopping arcade in Linwood
Councillor Robert Innes said: “The top shops had got into a real state, I had been receiving reports of anti social behaviour, the shop being abandoned and most recently a Linwood youth being robbed by an older youth. Also excess rubbish and fly tipping and general concerns for the look of the place. This is an area used by many people in Linwood and I hope the efforts I’ve made here with Renfrewshire Council, businesses and police to get the top shops cleaned up is the start of something good here.
“I am really pleased to see the work that has been done to clean up the car park and secure the premises that were being broken into and causing all sorts of problems. I’m looking forward to seeing all the graffiti being removed from the shops. Hopefully the area will look and feel a bit nicer for local residents and can stay that way. People should feel safe and proud of where they live and I will accept no less for Linwood.”
Cllr Innes understands that children need things to do in the area, he added: “If local kids have nothing to do then we can expect them to get bored and activities such as vandalism become something to do. I am exploring what can be done to make sure there is more for young people to do in Linwood and spaces that they themselves can feel safe to be themselves.
“Renfrewshire Council is making a real effort to make our towns and villages more environmentally friendly with campaigns such as Team Up to Clean Up, our climate initiatives and green space investment, as well as putting together a new Environmental Task Force Team with a real focus on fly-tipping. Importantly though we want local communities to get involved.
“If any Linwood residents or groups want more information on how they can get involved in any of the council’s campaigns or in making Linwood more environmentally friendly then please get in touch with me.”
Photo: How the car park and shop unit looked before the clean-up
Photo: Clean and secure: How the car park and shop unit looks after the clean-up teams got to work