We use cookies to improve your experience of using our website Please let us know if you agree to the use of these cookies An East Renfrewshire church has been recognised in the Scottish Parliament for its mission outreach work MSPs thanked Neilston Parish Church for its commitment to facilitate "meaningful social engagement" for local people A motion lodged by Scottish Labour's Paul O'Kane has been signed by cross-party MSPs who acknowledged the church helps brings the community together It stated: "Neilston Parish Church has hosted a Tuesday lunch club over the summer holiday period movies and crafts but also provides free lunches and other refreshments." The congregation describes itself as open and welcoming and "believes in the action of God through communities of faith" parish minister Rev Matthew Ritchie said: "It is not enough for churches to be in the community fun activities and a programme of fellowship "Hospitality is at the heart of Christ's work and by providing food we can provide that hospitality to our community in His name and her team have been doing has made a real difference to people in the village "We could not be prouder of them and it is great to see them recognised by the Scottish Parliament in this way." Neilston Parish Church works tirelessly to assist disadvantaged people affected by the cost of living crisis Its Saturday lunch club will resume on 7 September and provides a safe place for people to enjoy a free lunch and join in with activities Volunteers signpost people to organisations that can help with practical and financial advice The motion also acknowledged that the community in Neilston has also benefitted from social activities hosted by St Thomas' Roman Catholic Church The congregation lays on a drop-in café every Thursday facilitated by the St Vincent de Paul Society where local people are encouraged to attend meet friends and talk over tea and home baking The motion "thanks everyone at St Thomas' RC Church and Neilston Parish Church for helping the local people of the village of Neilston to stay connected to their own community" Church memory club recognised by South Lanarkshire Provost Stirling church partners with the community for Olympic holiday club to remember Church wins top award for mission outreach work Contact us The Link aimed to offer a safe and scenic walking, cycling and wheeling route along the old railway line between Neilston and Uplawmoor. Some £200,000 of public money has been spent on the project, which has involved years of negotiations with local landowners and consultations on how best to manage the design of the route. But volunteers announced this week that East Renfrewshire Council and the cycling charity Sustrans have withdrawn their support for the project. “We certainly feel very let down at the end of this,” said Martin Houston, director with Uplawmoor Development Trust. “Initial talks between Neilston Development Trust and Uplawmoor Development Trust about utilising the disused railway between the two communities started way back in 2016. “About that time, East Renfrewshire Council agreed to a feasibility study for the project, which was carried out by a reputable firm and cost around £30,000, so it was a big commitment “The biggest issue was getting local landowners to agree to the project – some were fairly resistant and with good reason. “The leader of the council at that time gave their full commitment to the proposals and an application went to Sustrans for funding as part of the charity’s Places for Everyone programme. “It was agreed that community organisations would take the lead on the design of the route, but the actual management and construction would be handled by the council. “Sustrans provided 100% of capital funding and signed off on all stages. “The project has been well-managed and cost hundreds of thousands of pounds of public money, but it’s a project that won’t be completed.” Mr Houston said part of the problem lies in how funding is being distributed through Sustrans’ Places for Everyone programme. Previously, the money was sent directly to community groups but it now goes to the local authority. A spokesperson for Sustrans said: “Funding previously awarded to support the Neilston to Uplawmoor project was received from our Places for Everyone programme, an active travel infrastructure fund backed by Transport Scotland. “As communicated to partners in 2024, the Places for Everyone programme will close in December 2025 as Transport Scotland move to a model of awarding funding directly to local authorities through the Active Travel Infrastructure Fund (ATIF). “As part of this managed transition, it is now at the discretion of local authorities – in this case East Renfrewshire Council – to decide whether to progress with existing, community-led projects.” In a letter sent to local residents, members of The Link working group said they felt “deep dismay” at the cancellation of the Neilston-Uplawmoor project by East Renfrewshire Council. The statement said: “The Link is the victim of faulty process but also of a culture which fails to understand the energy and commitment of local people for change in their place. “Sometimes those aspirations need the input of skilled professionals, and out of that can come a very rich product, which has more chance of being locally ‘owned’ than one visited from above after some ‘consultation’ process.” An East Renfrewshire Council spokesperson said: “We’re unable to take the development of the project forward in its current form due to a number of complex challenges associated with this proposed link. “A number of active travel links are identified in the council’s adopted Local Development Plan 2, but remain an aspiration, as we don’t have the resources to progress them at this time.” STV News is now on WhatsAppGet all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Follow STV News on WhatsAppScan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country '+scriptOptions._localizedStrings.webview_notification_text+' "+scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_title+" "+scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_text+" Battery energy storage system (BESS) developer Apatura has secured planning consent for a 150MW BESS in Scotland The Neilston BESS will be located in Paisley Renfrewshire Council approved the decision with no objections following a close working relationship between Apatura Scotland’s Energy Consents Unit and Renfrewshire Council Apatura now has 1GW of approved or operational BESS capacity as well as having Scotland’s largest energy storage pipeline at over 10GW stated: “BESS plays a crucial role in modern energy management especially in the context of renewable energy integration and grid stability It is central to our goal of enhancing the renewable energy infrastructure in Scotland and follows on from a number of recent successful planning consents “This scheme will help deliver stable energy prices leading to reduced bills and taking the pressure off households while at the same time increasing energy security clean energy to communities across the country and this latest planning consent does just that,” concluded Philpott This project is the sixth that Apatura has received planning consent for in the past 14 months Arguably, the most notable approval of the firm’s recent run came in September of last year, when planning consent was awarded for Scotland’s largest standalone BESS, a 700MW development in Inverclyde A 74-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene Emergency services were called to Neilston Road in Paisley at around 8pm following reports of a crash involving a pedestrian and a blue Hyundai IX35. A 74-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene. His next of kin are aware. The 36-year-old male driver of the car was uninjured. He was arrested in connection with a road traffic offence and enquiries are ongoing. Neilston Road was closed at the junctions of Rowan Street, Alice Street, Stock Street, Great Hamilton Street and Barterholm Road, for around five hours while investigations were carried out. Sergeant Jack Swindells said: “Our thoughts are with the man’s family at this extremely difficult time. “Enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances and we are keen to speak to anyone who was in the area, around the time of the crash. “I would also ask drivers to please check your dash-cams and if you have any footage that could help with our investigation, contact officers.” Anyone who can assist is asked to call Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident number 3198 of Saturday, February 8, 2025.