Further funding of £93,000 has been approved by East Renfrewshire Council for the new synthetic, all weather football pitch at Eastwood Park, Giffnock.

Since 2009 the council has been working with Giffnock Soccer Centre (GSC) to deliver a 100m x 60m pitch within the park.

In February this year a planning application was approved for the installation of a synthetic sports pitch with eight 15m high floodlighting columns and associated fencing.

Whilst it was initially intended that the pitch could be funded through a combination of grant funding and by Giffnock Soccer Centre itself, it was not possible to achieve this and, consequently, the council agreed to a financial contribution of £320,000 during 2012/13.

In relocating the pitch from the former tree nursery site to its proposed location between St Ninian's High and Eastwood House, additional costs were encountered.

The council has, therefore, agreed to provide an additional £93,000 from the capital reserve to support the project.

The council will now make the necessary arrangements to proceed to tender for the construction of the pitch and to finalise lease terms with Giffnock Soccer Centre.

Once constructed, the pitch will be owned by the council but leased to GSC under a 25 year lease. GSC will then operate, maintain and manage the pitch with St. Ninian's High School having access to the pitch during the school day and at specified school holiday times during summer and Easter.  

East Renfrewshire Council has been praised for its strong performance after an external audit.

An annual review of the authority has been carried out by Audit Scotland and a range of other inspectorates.

And their overall assessment of the council is very positive.

Audit Scotland and a number of other external partners, including the Care Commission and Education Scotland, examined East Renfrewshire's performance.

In their report, they agreed with the council's objective that 'residents are served by one of the best councils in Scotland, driving change, efficiency and innovation'.

Inspectors also said the council's 'overall performance is good with high levels of customer satisfaction'.

Other findings include:

• East Renfrewshire's children's services are among the best in Scotland
• Community care is in line with or slightly better than the Scottish average
• The council has been effective in addressing budget issues over a three-year timeframe with significant targets
• There is a well-developed corporate management system in place
• The Public Service Excellence programme is embedded in the working culture and continues to identify opportunities to improve the efficiency and quality of services provided
• Proper scrutiny of activities is done by councillors and officers.

The inspectors also reassessed last year's report on the council. Two areas highlighted for further scrutiny - the housing stock condition survey and the homelessness service - have now been judged as needing no further review.

Leader of the council, Councillor Jim Fletcher, said: "Everyone should be extremely proud of this report.

"East Renfrewshire Council considers itself to be one of the best councils in Scotland and takes pride in providing a first-class service to its residents.

"This very positive review is testament to that commitment to excellence and it is great to hear Audit Scotland praise the council's performance."

All Scottish councils are examined on a yearly basis by the group of external auditors.

East Renfrewshire Council are holding a Facilities Management Job Fayre.

There will be two held on the following date and times:

Barrhead Offices - Tuesday 11th June 10:00am till 2:00pm

Thorntree Hall - Wednesday 12th June - 10:00am till 2:00pm.

There will be the following posts advertised:

• Catering posts from 10 hours to 16.25 hours (School term)
• Cleaning posts from 10 hours and 37 hour (Nightshift)
• Various casual posts

Reference details must be provided on application form supplied.  

As part of Scotland's Nature Festival, the Rouken Glen Park activity ranger will be introducing participants to our park's more secretive creatures.

This will take place between 2pm and 4pm on Friday 24 May.

Activity will be set up next to the Boating Pond - meeting at 2pm near Boater's café.

All events in Rouken Glen Park are FREE unless otherwise stated.

Booking for this event is essential - to book call the activities staff on 0141 577 3912 or email roukenglenpark@eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk

All children must be accompanied by an adult and suitable clothing and footwear must be worn.

The competition "Name your Centre" to name the Barrhead's new community development is now closed.

East Renfrewshire Council would like to thank everyone that has entered. An announcement will be made when a final decision is in place.  

Pupils, staff and parents are organising the event, to be held on school grounds next month.

Among the attractions will be live music, dance acts, inflatables, crazy golf, come-and-try judo and fencing and the sure-to-be-popular 'dunk the teacher'.

All funds raised from the fete will be split between a number of good causes.

Benefiting will be charities Mary's Meals, Save the Children and the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Proceeds will also go towards helping fund a major expedition the school is organising to Sri Lanka.

The fete takes place at the school in Robslee Road, Thornliebank, on Saturday 8 June from 2 till 4pm. Tickets are available now from the school. Contact them for more information on 0141 577 2400.

And further funds will be going the way of Mary's Meals, thanks to the big-hearted Woodfarm pupils.

As part of a personal development course, a group of third-year students have organised a 'Mary's Meals Backpack Project'.

The programme will help children in African countries including Malawi and Liberia who have been affected by war, poverty, famine or natural disaster.

Pupils asked teachers to sponsor the purchase of a backpack, and fellow students were asked to donate items such as pens and pencils to go into the bags.

These bags with their educational materials are designed to help children attend school.

In total, nearly £500 and 57 backpacks were donated to Mary's Meals as a result of the project.

Drop in for this free event between noon and 4pm on Saturday 25 May and find out how you can enjoy the countryside at your leisure. Bring your boots/trainers/bike or horse and explore what Whitelee has to offer.

Try out orienteering or take part in bike games or a ranger led walk to ensure you make the most of the day. There is something for everyone to enjoy at Outside Now.

Meet the rangers at Whitelee Windfarm Visitor Centre car park just before noon.

For further information, please contact the Whitelee Countryside Rangers on:

0141 614 0962

whitelee-crs@eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk

www.eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk/whitelee

Johnathan Gilmour, who attends Barrhead High School, has been presented with an award by the authority.

The 15-year-old - ranked among the top 10 fighters in the world - received a trophy in recognition of his outstanding success.

Johnathan was selected for the Scotland karate team in February and travelled to his first European Karate Championships in Turkey.

During the competition he took bronze in the cadets kumite -57 kilo category - one of just three medals Scotland has won in TEN years.

And it came after he competed against the top fighters from 22 countries, losing only one point in all of his fights.

In honour of this, Johnathan was presented with an award at the council's education committee by Elaine Green and Paul O'Kane, convener and vice convener for education and equalities. His proud mum and dad were also at the presentation.

Councillor Green said: "I'd like to say very well done to Johnathan on his terrific success - his school and the council are very proud of his many achievements.

"It was fitting for this to be recognised publicly by the education service and I was delighted to meet Johnathan and present this very well deserved award.

"I'm sure we will continue to see him go from strength to strength in the karate world."

The World Karate Federation has ranked him one of the top 10 fighters in the world, with both the Scottish Karate Governing Body and the British Karate Federation also recognising his success.

Also praising Johnathan is Mary Montague, convener for community services and community safety.

She said: "Many congratulations to Johnathan - to represent Scotland at such a young age is a tremendous achievement.

"The presentation of this award is very well deserved.

"Our sports clubs do such an excellent job with our young people so I'd like to commend Johnathan's coaches too."

Johnathan's mum, Elizabeth Matheson, thanked Barrhead High for being 'really supportive' of her son and added: "We are very proud of him."

Holly Gomez, who attends Woodfarm High in Thornliebank, is Amnesty International's Young Human Rights Reporter of the Year.

She was named winner at a prestigious ceremony held in central London after she beat off strong competition from across the UK.

The 16-year-old was presented with her award by former Newsround presenter Sonali Shah.

Speaking after receiving her trophy, a delighted Holly said: "It's such an honour to have been part of this competition and to win has just topped it off.

"I wrote about North Korean political prisoners and it was difficult to find information because it is kept in so much secrecy. I hope that by winning more people will get to hear about the problems and become interested and research it themselves.

"It is so important that young people become more aware of human rights issues because they will be the ones dealing with them when they grow up. Journalism means people can learn about what's happening in the world."

Amnesty's writing competition attracted around 2,500 entrants from nearly 200 schools.

Congratulating Holly on her success, Elaine Green, East Renfrewshire Council's convener for education and equalities, said: "Holly's achievement is absolutely outstanding. To be chosen as winner out of many talented young writers from across the UK is really fantastic.

"It is great to see one of our young students so inspired and passionate about a subject that's dear to her heart.

"Very many congratulations to Holly from everyone at East Renfrewshire Council on this award - she is a credit to herself, her family and to Woodfarm."

Woodfarm High School head teacher Ann Stewart said the school were thrilled with Holly's win.

She said: "We are all delighted that Holly has won the competition. Thanks must also go to Graeme Thomson, modern studies teacher, who encouraged Holly to enter."

Amnesty International's work has long been an interest of Holly and she joined her parents and big brother Craig to run a 10k in London last December to raise funds for the charity, bringing in £700. She is a member of Woodfarm High's Amnesty Human Rights Action Group.

East Renfrewshire Council is planning improvements to its website - and it needs YOUR help to do it.

Changes to the site are in the pipeline to ensure it remains customer-focused, easy to use and informative.

But to help the council make the improvements, it would like feedback from local residents.

So it is encouraging people to take part in testing sessions, which will take place in two East Renfrewshire libraries later this month.

The sessions will be held in Clarkston and Barrhead libraries on Thursday 30 May.

Volunteers will work with council staff, who will take them through a variety of different scenarios on the East Renfrewshire website.

Users will be asked to find different pieces of information on the site, then be asked to rate how easy or difficult they found the task.

East Renfrewshire Council is looking for a diverse mix of people from all ages, backgrounds and experience of using online services to get involved in the testing sessions.

Anyone interested in getting involved and helping the council shape the improvements should complete the simple online form.

A member of the council's team will then be in contact to make the arrangements to attend one of the two libraries and take part in the test.