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Forgewood Community Council

Forgewood Community Council is a Statutory Body set up according to the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. The current Forgewood Community Council was set up in January 2000.

The role of the Community Council is "to ascertain, co-ordinate and express to the local authority - and to other public authorities - the views of the community it represents and take such action in the interests of that community as appears to be expedient and practicable".

Put simply; this means, the main aim of the Community Council is to act as liaison between the Community and North Lanarkshire Council.

North Lanarkshire Council is committed to giving local communities a real say in what happens in their areas and recognises that Community Councils have an important role.

The role of the Community Councillor "is to represent the views of the local community. To do this Community Councils members will have to ascertain the views of people in the community on particular topics. The views of the community may, from time to time, conflict with the personal views of individual Community Council members. When this situation arises a Community Council is required to ensure that the views of the community take precedence over the personal views of individual members".

Council mark 30th Anniversary of the creation of Community Councils

Representatives from the Community Council are to join our peer group at a celebratory dinner organised by the Council to mark the 30th Anniversary of the formation of Community Councils.

A full report on the evening will be posted here in the near future.

New Kid on the Block

You can hardly be blamed if the significance of last May’s elections passed you by.

Gone is Ward 3 Forgewood, replaced by the all new Motherwell West. The new Ward as diverse an area as you could imagine; comprising Greenacres, Airbles, Ladywell, North Motherwell, and Forgewood and incorporating parts of, Motherwell Town Centre, Strathclyde Park and the Calder Valley.

With a topography and demographic as diverse as this, you will not be surprised to learn that the creation of Motherwell West brings with it many new challenges; some of these new challenges welcome and bringing with them new opportunities, other older challenges, well known but less attractive.

Another important change is that the new Ward is Multi-Member, which means we have three new Councillors where we you used to have one. Our three new Councillors are Annette Valentine (SNP), Michael Ross (Lab) and Paul Kelly (Lab) pictured here - he with the red tie - meeting up with Forgewood Community Council at our meeting last June.

The eagle eyed among you will have noted that the new Ward is not only Multi-Member but with the arrival of Annette it is now bipartisan.

So basically, we are in new territory here. Everybody from the Local Authority, to Elected Councillors, to Community Councils, to Residents Groups to wider Community Groups and respective communities are all trying to forge new partnerships and find new ways of working together to make life better for all.

Interesting times indeed.