Some community councils in the area face being split into two separate bodies if the recommendations are approved by East Renfrewshire Council this week.

Elected members will consider the report at a special meeting of full council on September 24. However Barrhead Community Council is expected to escape relatively unscathed as Barrhead still has less than the required number of people in it to split the council.

A council source who did not wish to be named said: “There were a few recommendations made by the independent observer and they seem to corroborate what we have heard elsewhere.

“But there is no doubt that some of what is suggested in the report will ruffle some feathers in some community councils in East Renfrewshire.” The report outlined ways in which both the council and the community council were failing to engage with one another and the wider community, and offers recommendations to see them improved.

The report, to be delivered by East Renfrewshire Council’s Deputy Chief Executive, says: “The council should improve the way it supports and engages with Community Councils. The council should develop and adopt a positive culture of community engagement that seeks to develop partnerships with Community Councils. The Council should provide training and some of this should be mandatory for Community Council members.” However it also adds: “Community Councils need to be more diverse and more closely match the make-up of their community. Community Councils need to improve how they engage with their own local community.” The 50 page document goes on to explain how and why a number of boundaries should be slightly revised, however the most controversial point could prove to be the splitting of councils, most notably Newton Mearns, into two separate entities representing different community areas.

It also details how Barrhead Community Council could be split into two to four different areas depending on the size on the town, however at this moment in time it does not meet the criteria to be split.

For more on the report and councillor’s reactions see next week’s Barrhead News.