A PROPOSAL by a member of the public for a new residents’ parking scheme in Port Glasgow is set to be considered by Inverclyde Council.

Support for negotiating a long term lease to secure investment in indoor bowling has also been approved by Inverclyde Council’s Petitions Committee.

Eileen Catterson raised a petition which called for a residents’ parking scheme in Port Glasgow Town Centre on King Street and Church Street in areas which currently have a 30 minute parking restriction in place.

After being considered and supported by the petitions committee, the proposal will now be formally referred to a second council committee for consideration.

Petitions Committee Vice Convener, councillor Christopher Curley, said: “It is great to see more citizens of Inverclyde making use of this forum to have their voices heard.

“It is a way to raise an issue, find out if there is support, and have a direct link into the decision making process of the council.

“I would encourage more residents who want to have their say on a local issue, to do something positive in the community or to improve their area, to find out if the Petitions Committee is the right route to get things done.”

The committee also heard from Angus Munro who raised a petition calling for the negotiation of a long-term lease to Inverclyde Leisure for the indoor bowling facility in Greenock.

In his submission Mr Munro highlighted that the Inverclyde Indoor Bowling Club had produced the youngest ever Scottish singles champions with 30 caps for Scotland but had recently failed to secure national championships because of the bowling carpet condition.

He proposed that the negotiation of a longer-term lease with Inverclyde Leisure should be supported to allow them to increase investment in the building including new lighting and a bowling carpet to allow the club to propose and bid for national championships.

Petitions Committee members agreed that the proposal from Mr Munro should be formally considered by a second committee.

Councillor Curley added: “I would like to again thank Eileen and Angus for their petitions and for attending the meeting to present their cases.

“They have each raised issues which, though very different, have clearly gained support in our community. It shows that with reasoned discussion, the petitions process is a good way to raise an issue. I hope this encourages more residents to use the petitions process to have their say.”

Anyone interested in raising a petition with Inverclyde Council needs to log it on the Council website. It must meet the criteria set out and receive support from over 100 people.

Petitions raised by community groups only need to raise support from 50 people and ones from the business community only need support from ten businesses.

Visit www.inverclyde.gov.uk/petitions for more information.

http://www.greenocktelegraph.co.uk/news/15896818.Inverclyde_Council_collects___700k_in_parking_fines/