A CAMPAIGN to repair a piece of Barrhead and Neilston history is gathering pace.

Last month, the Barrhead News told how residents were eager to see Johnny Blue’s Well renovated after rumours it would be destroyed for a housing development were dispelled by East Renfrewshire Council.

The fears were allayed when the local authority’s planning department took steps to protect the former watering point as Miller Homes got to work on its 140-property project nearby.

Calls to upgrade the renowned well, which lies on Springhill Road, have since ramped up as a result of an online video depicting the site in all its glory – complete with a backing track by Neilston singer-songwriter James Higgins.

Barrhead man Eric Hughes uploaded the three-minute clip to Facebook, prompting a number of positive messages on the social media platform.

The footage contains aerial shots of the well from above, captured by a drone.

Eric said: “I’m waiting on the maker getting back to me as he’s quite a private person and not on Facebook himself.

“He read about Johnny Blue’s Well and thought it would be nice to make a wee video to try to promote the repair of the well.

“Like the rest of us, he used to stop there during our school holidays when out walking to get a refreshing drink.

“We all did back in the day.”

Barrhead, Liboside and Uplawmoor councillor Angela Convery previously reassured residents the well would be part of the landscaping of any future development proposal.

And Cllr Convery has confirmed that repairing Johnny Blue’s Well remains high on her list of priorities.

She said: “I saw the video and it is really good.

“I will be working on it. I don’t have an update at the moment but as long as it’s safe, which it is, that is the main thing.

“We will just try to see what we can do about it.”

According to a council document on guided walks in East Renfrewshire, Johnny Blue’s Well earned its title from a “local print worker who washed himself clean of blue dye in the well’s waters as he travelled home to Neilston”.

For more information, visit www.jameshigginsmusician.com