A councillor has added his weight to calls for a major rethink on developing Erskine.
Councillor Tom Begg has reacted to Erskine Community Council’s savaging of Renfrewshire Council for having no big plan for the town.
He believes nothing short of a new town centre and public park development will do.
And he has calculated that people in the town have paid £300 million into the local and national tax system since 2016.
Councillor Begg explained: “At that time the so called charrette survey made various recommendations for the future.
“Nothing has been acted on and my calculation of how much tax has been paid is astonishing.”
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We revealed on Saturday that senior figures in the town believe it has been ignored and overlooked for years - and they want a grand plan for the future.
Mr Begg, who is a sitting Conservative councillor for the Erskine and Inchinnan ward, worked out the £300 million total on the basis of 7,500 people in the town paying income tax and council tax.
His party have not selected the 77-year-old for May’s election and he is now considering standing as an independent.
He said: “Erskine is bigger than Johnstone with not a fraction of the facilities.
“Since the charrette of 2016 I reckon that people here have paid £300m in tax to Renfrewshire Council and income tax to the the government .
“How much of that has gone into our infrastructure? Not a lot.”
He called on developers of future Erskine housing estates to pay a suggested £1,000 bounty per unit, ring-fenced to help create a new future.
Mr Begg added: “Why is Erskine being ignored by Renfrewshire Council and the Scottish Government?
“I would like to see a newly created town centre with a fountain landmark for instance.
“And the council has a landholding of 17 acres down at the waterfront off Kilpatrick Drive.
“This cannot be built on and I would like to see a park attraction.
“I would also like to see an area where craft people could display and sell their works and well as even a coffee shop where people can meet.
""At the Mains Drive shops, ith the sign falling over and the depressing look of the row of shops with falling masonry, it is surprising there is any commercial footfall, but with doctor's and dentist's surgeries at the bottom of the row there a a good number of locals passing by daily and so the businesses can be viable. However the state of the properties is dragging down the area in comparison to the neighbouring neat houses and gardens.
"Sadly there is split ownership, and this makes it difficult to organise repairs when one or two refuse to help or chose to hinder the work.
"There is one group, block 6, which had organised the repairs two years ago to the two shops and the residences above, but sadly during lockdown the agreed contractors are no longer in contact. They are now seeking quotations from other contractors.
"The other two blocks which make up two thirds of the row are administered by the Bridgewater Housing Association but I am unaware if they are planning to make good the properties.
"It would be better to see the whole row upgraded at the same time.
Erskine Community Council has also called for action.
Renfrewshire Council said the town remains a popular place to live with high demand for housing.
But it seemed to confess there was little social infrastructure when it added there was “good access to the road network and nearby centres of employment”.
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