£20k boost for RSPB will improve seating

A Renfrewshire nature reserve will receive almost £20,000 to enhance a visitor seating and experience zone after the award was given the green light.

- JACK THOMSON, LOCAL DEMOCRACY REPORTER

Vital facility Councillor Gillian Graham welcomed the funding

RSPB Lochwinnoch will land a windfall from the council's villages investment fund for the installation of a wooden gazebo and other improvements at the site.

The plans follow the opening of a modular building at the reserve entrance, which offers a small shop and reception area, during the summer.

Elected members rubber-stamped a grant of £19,236.89 (£13,820.49 capital and £5,416.40 revenue) to the conservation charity at the communities and housing policy board on Tuesday.

Councillor Gillian Graham, a Labour representative for Lochwinnoch, was among those who welcomed the recommendation.

She said at the meeting: "The reserve is visited by thousands of visitors every year, both locally and nationally, and it brings much-needed income into the area and to village businesses.