Iain is new chair of Cambuslang Community Council

Dec 12 2012 by Kenny Smith, Rutherglen Reformer

Cambuslang Community Council has elected Iain McKenzie as its new chairman.

Iain, a Cambuslang resident for the past 18 years, was delighted when he was unanimously elected to become the new chairman, at the recent AGM of the community council.

And he already has aspirations which could see the whole Cambuslang area benefit.

Iain - a surveyor by trade - is no stranger to working in the community, having previously been a member of the West Coats Primary School parent council, and a member of the local community council for the past year.

He told the Reformer: “I was a member of a community council when they first started back in the 1970s, at Newlands and Auldhouse.

“The great thing about being involved with a community council is that it’s non-political. Local people can bring forward their concerns, knowing that they are genuine worries for the community.

“We’re also fortunate that we’re very well supported by our local councillors, Russell Clearie, Richard Tullett and Claire McColl, as well as our MP Tom Greatrex, who take an interest in our meetings.”

Cambuslang Community Council has been long-established in the town, with a good reputation on chasing up local issues, which the new chairman aims to build on.

Iain explained: “Something I would like to do is see more representation at our meetings from the Whitlawburn area.

“Cambuslang has a wide mix of areas, and I would like the whole town to be represented - it’s something that I want to be redressed.

“There must be a lot of issues up there which we’re not hearing about.

“There’s a great divide with social issues in Cambuslang that are maybe not addressed as much, and hopefully we can get a representative from there, so we can all work together.

“There are other issues too. The Main Street has its challenges at the moment, and I would like to be more pro-active there.

“One of our members, Donald MacDonald, runs a garage, and the council put down double yellow lines outside his business, which has a harmful effect on his livelihood - but Greenlees Road, a busier road, has none.

“There’s no town centre manager for Cambuslang, and there are other issues, such as street furniture outside Universal Connections, which are rusting and don’t reflect well on the area. These should either be fully restored or removed.

“I would like to engage more with the community too, to see if there are other issues of concern, to link up with the local schools and parent councils as well - they could all be affected by similar issues, but don’t know it.

“I’d also like to contact the other community councils in the area, in Burnside and Rutherglen, to see if we can work with them as well.”

Cambuslang Community Council’s December meeting takes place on Tuesday, December 18, at 7pm in Cambuslang Parish Church’s St Andrew’s building. All are welcome to attend.

Community council meetings are regularly attended by local councillors, meaning residents’ views and fears are heard first hand, and matters raised are often acted upon.