PLANS for a new skate park and play equipment at Neilston’s Kingston Playing Fields have taken a huge jump forward.

East Renfrewshire Council has announced there will be fresh investment in the village as part of its next budget.

The move is part of the local authority's ambition to plough £87,000 into regeneration projects aimed at improving the overall appearance of its villages.

Neilston will also benefit from a share of £1.9m investment in bringing East Renfrewshire’s roads up to scratch.

Road safety, potholes, non-gritted pavements, rundown shop fronts and tired children’s play equipment are all issues Neilston residents have raised in surgeries with councillors and in community meetings in recent months.

The news has been welcomed by Neilston, Uplawmoor and Newton Mearns North councillor Paul O’Kane who regards the council’s decision as an important marker for the village’s future.

He said: “People say, ‘Why does the council not spend any money here?’ and sometimes people feeling nothing has really happened.

“But the reality is, the council is serious about investing in Neilston.

“One of the things people have been saying is, you see a lot of money spent up there, so it’s about time we did something with Neilston Main Street.

“There will be a lot more focus on roads which is good and will make a difference in the village.

“Safety is a big one on the main street, particularly the issues around safety and speed. There are two issues: general road safety and the state of the roads.

“People also tell me that the main street needs some work to make it look better.

“The main street’s quite tired, the road surfaces need to be looked at, especially some of the safety aspects. I’m keen to meet with officers to discuss what we can do with the whole civic realm.”

Cllr O’Kane revealed to The News that ERC is also looking at ways of expanding the Neilston War Memorial, as well as sprucing up street furniture and creating additional parking spaces.

Speaking of the investment in the Kingston Playing Fields, Cllr O’Kane said: “This is really welcomed because the community council, Neilston Development Trust and the charter advisory group that meet together have been working on this for a long time.

“Last year we received some funding from WREN, an environmental charity, to build a skate park.

“That money is sitting there ready to go and there’s a funding application in for that so there’s going to be a skate park and youth shelters.

“Already that investment is there. When we’ve got further investment we’ll start to look at the playpark.

“Families love Kingston, but it’s got to have the facilities to match up to elsewhere in East Renfrewshire.”