We’re a group of local volunteers who live in Renfrew and care about what happens here.

Community Councils exist all across Scotland - they give local people a stronger voice in how their town is run.

We’re not part of Renfrewshire Council, but we work with them closely to pass on what residents think and need.

Yes, every Community Council in Renfrewshire follows a shared set of rules agreed with the Council. Ours sets out how we’re elected, how we spend money, and how meetings are run.

It keeps things open, fair, and public.

The whole of Renfrew and parts of Hillington

No. Parish Councils are in England and Wales.

In Scotland, Community Councils do the same sort of thing - representing local people - but under Scottish law.

We raise local issues with Renfrewshire Council and other public bodies - things like roads, bins, parks, planning, and safety.

We hold public meetings, share updates, support community events, and try to join the dots between residents, local groups, and businesses.

We also take forward a range of community projects to benefit the town and it's people.

In short: we listen, we connect, and we get things done where we can.

They’re the official local authority. We’re the community voice.

They have to consult us on certain things like planning applications and licensing.

We also feed into the Renfrewshire Local Partnership — where decisions about funding and local priorities are made.

Yes, just use our contact form at the bottom of every page

The Chamber of Commerce only represents businesses, whereas the Community Council represents the whole community. In addition, the Chamber of Commerce is not set up by statute, whereas the Community Council is. However, the two organisations frequently work together.

So that the views of the community of Renfrew can be represented to Renfrewshire Council and to other public sector organisations.

We don’t make or block Council or Government decisions, but we do have a legal right to be consulted on key issues.

We can:

• Comment on planning and licensing applications

• Make formal requests under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015

• Apply to take on local assets or support local projects

• Take forward ideas and projects for the benefit of the town

Think of us as Renfrew’s voice at the table — not the people running the table.

Anything that affects everyday life here - roads, lighting, bins, green spaces, local events, safety, regeneration plans. If it matters to Renfrew, it matters to us.

Yes — and we’d love that. Check out our join page for more information.

Pop along to a meeting — you don’t need to be a member to speak up.

A police officer usually attends one of our monthly meetings and gives a report on policing within the town.

We get a say - not a veto.

When someone applies for planning permission in Renfrew, we can review it, ask questions, and submit a comment.

That feedback goes to Renfrewshire Council’s planning officers before any decision is made.

Yes — we can show you how to find the application online and how to submit your own comments properly.

All applications are listed on Renfrewshire Council’s planning portal.

We get a small annual grant from Renfrewshire Council to cover admin, meetings, and community communications. We can also raise their own funds for local projects, but we don’t make or raise money through taxes. We are not allowed to use any of our annual grant to make grants or donations to charities and other organisations. However this does not apply to any money which we have raised ourselves.

No (unlike parish councils in England).