Councillor update April 2024
I love this time of year when the sun shines more, colour starts bursting from our greenspaces and we can all get out and about more. I’ve had a wee break over the Easter holidays, all refreshed for more action. This month I’ve been visiting lots of community groups and continuing getting action on your concerns. As ever, please contact me on Kirsten.robb@southlanarkshire.gov.uk to meet or chat when and where it suits you. Follow me on Facebook and Councillor Kirsten Robb (@krobbGreen) / X (twitter.com) for regular updates.
East Kilbride East action
Litter action: Ivanhoe and Calderglen High: I joined residents and EK Litter Pickers for a tidy up of Ivanhoe, whilst identifying more improvement works that the council can help address. Equally, everyone is responsible for waste, please use a bin and use the right bin for your waste, arrange an uplift or re-use things by seeing if someone else would find unwanted goods useful, more info here https://reuse-network.org.uk/ and on Shop for Nothing EK .
A member of EK Litter Pickers and I met with a deputy head at Calderglen High School recently about litter inside and outside the school. We highlighted some areas within the school where litter accumulates on the boundary (and therefore is visible or runs into the community). They want to be a good neighbour and have committed to sorting this between staff and pupil action. This week the S1 Leadership Academy were out picking in the school grounds. In terms of outside the school the focus of school assemblies this week has been kindness, with a big focus on litter. Thanks for your efforts Calderglen! We will keep encouraging your efforts and arrange a chat together if anything needs sorting.
Car park resurfacing & disabled bays at Brancumhall: And resurfacing and marked out disabled bays at Brancumhall Pitch / Bowling car park. I’ve asked to see if the path from the disabled bays to the pitch can be improved, too, as well as the path through Brancumhall pitches as this is a safe route to school for St Leonards Primary children and for everyone using the pitch area.
Pathworks:The whole path from Wingate to Calderwood Square has now been re-laid, thanks to residents for highlighting this to me. This is especially important for people from the sheltered housing complex who can have more limited mobility.
Calderwood Hall: Existing bookings are now secure until the end of May at least, as community group applications go in to secure the future of Calderwood Hall. Contact me if you have any concerns.
Visits: I visited the Chill Out Club, a registered charity and social space for people who experience mental health issues. They meet every week, hosted at Moncreiff Parish Church. Definitely a friendly, caring bunch with lots of chat. If you know anyone who could benefit from this club, please give them a call on. I helped Long Calderwood Parent Council finish up the pitch project and St Leonards Parent Council get their MUGA (open to the community) power washed to make it more playable. I went along to St Leonards Community Council (including discussing more about Local Place Plans), walked Calderglen with volunteers to discuss future projects (with a bit of stone skimming thrown in) and visited the EK Flower Club’s 45 year anniversary celebration.
Wellbeing support in Calderwood: Want to connect with others, try something new, get out and about or improve you or your family’s health? There’s a wealth of local support and activities in Calderwood for well-being from the Connected – Calderwood partnership (give their page a like pls) and others. Find out more at www.locator.org.uk or call Healthy and Active in East Kilbride 01355 571300. Drop ins both on Maxwelton Road at Kettle’s On (Thurs 9-1pm at Moncreiff Parish Church and the Community Café (Wed 11am-1pm at Calderwood Baptist Church).
South Lanarkshire wide: Supporting the third sector (community, voluntary and social enterprises): I attended the launch of and support a campaign of over 100 organisations from across South Lanarkshire who have come together to start a movement – a movement that aims to influence local and national decision makers. A movement that demands change. The value of the third sector needs to be recognized as the beating heart of our communities, we need smarter funding, and we need more meaningful engagement with the public sector. Let’s #KeepTheBeatAlive. Find out more on the website: https://keepthebeatalive.org.uk/ and sign up your local group.
I attended the annual International Workers Memorial Day commemoration, this year highlighting the increasing numbers of workers being put in dangerous situations due to climate driven extreme conditions, whether that’s fighting fires, battling to reconnect electricity after storms or helping vulnerable people suffering from extreme heat. And I visited the East Kilbride Integration Network cafe, a group of local people who want to Welcome, Support, Connect and Improve quality of life, wellbeing and integration into EK of asylum seekers and refugees who have so much to offer our community.
Coming up this month: Climate committee is on Wed 15th May 10am, full council coming up on 12th June 10am.
