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November 4, 2025
Renfrewshire tenants are being asked to share their ideas for improvements they want to see in their local area as part of a new tenant fund.
The YouDecide Tenants fund will see £600k spent over the next 3 years on projects which have been suggested by residents and voted on by tenants. The aim of the fund is for people living in council housing areas to have the chance to spend council budget where they know it’s needed.
The fund will be split across the 3 years, with £150k earmarked for year 1 (2025 to 2026), £250k for year 2 (2026 to 2027) and £200k for year 3 (2027 to 2028), with the budget for each year spread evenly across all council housing areas in Renfrewshire.
Ideas can cover a range of projects such as new benches and planters, environmental improvements, fencing, gates and additional lighting. YouDecide Tenants has been designed in collaboration with the Tenants’ Scrutiny Panel, a group of tenants who work with the council to help inform policy development.
Residents can submit their ideas online for the first year of the fund from 10 November 2025 until 21 December 2025. The submitted ideas will then be assessed against the criteria with a shortlist of projects published in February 2026 for tenants to vote on.
Vice Chairperson of the Tenants’ Scrutiny Panel, Margaret Dymond, said: “I think it’s very important that it’s tenants who vote on the ideas submitted. It’s giving a bit of power back to tenants – they pay their rent and they should have their say. I think it would benefit anyone interested in the fund to come along to the information events and find out more.”
The YouDecide Tenants team is holding a series of information events where residents and tenants can find out more about the fund and get help to submit their ideas. The sessions will be held at local libraries across Renfrewshire on the following dates:
| Monday 10 November | Tuesday 11 November | Wednesday 12 November | Thursday 13 November | Friday 14 November | |
| 10.00am – 11.30am | Bridge of Weir Library | Foxbar Library | Lochwinnoch Library | Linwood Library | Bishopton Library |
| 2.00pm – 3.30pm | Renfrew Library | Glenburn Library | Johnstone Library | Paisley Library | Ferguslie Library |
Convener of Renfrewshire Council’s Communities and Housing Policy Board, Cllr Marie McGurk, said: “We are committed to creating neighbourhoods our tenants can be proud of. The purpose of YouDecide Tenants is to give our tenants the chance to spend council budget where they know it’s needed.
“The investment we’ve made to the fund over the next 3 years will enable every council housing area in Renfrewshire to benefit. All we need is your ideas for the improvements you’d like to see, no project is too big or too small.”
Tenants’ Scrutiny Panel member, Meg Gilzean, said: “It’s really important that it’s not just the main town centres that’ll benefit from this fund but the villages too. I think it’s a really good scheme, where tenants have a voice and are getting to make the decisions. I’ll be getting my friends and neighbours together to try and get everyone involved.”
The ideas submitted will be assessed against the fund criteria with the shortlist of projects published in February 2026 for tenants to vote on.
The winning ideas for each area are expected to be announced in March 2026 with work to deliver the improvements to take place throughout 2026.
More information on YouDecide Tenants can be found at https://www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/youdecide-tenants. Alternatively, you can email the team at youdecide@renfrewshire.gov.uk.
