A COUNCILLOR has called for free public wifi to be installed in all village and scheme community halls across Renfrewshire.

Andy Doig, who represents Johnstone North, Kilbarchan, Howwood and Lochwinnoch, believes it is unfair that most town facilities have been connected while many rural areas still have not.

He told The Gazette: "I have been approached by Lochwinnoch Arts Festival who are, as we all are, very pleased about the ongoing renovation of the McKillop Institute. 

"As the McKillop hosts a lot of arts festival events, they asked if it would have wifi and OneRen have confirmed that this will not be the case. As the owners of the building I am asking the Council to commit to a rolling programme of this kind.

"In 2022, it is really nonsense that the five town hall centres in Renfrewshire - Paisley, Renfrew, Johnstone, Erskine, and Linwood - all have wifi in their respective town halls, and rightly so, but that village amenities like the McKillop Institute, and those many community halls in our housing schemes, will not have. This is simply not acceptable and must be addressed now."

The Independant councillor is now calling for Renfrewshire Council to commit to a timescale for the installation of wifi in all village and community halls in Renfrewshire.

He added: "We cannot contemplate a two tier system here where a kind of digital apartheid prevails, where town centre residents have an enhanced kind of service but village and scheme residents do not. 

"Ultimately, we all pay council tax, so are all entitled to the same quality of service that we would expect of community facilities in the 21st century."

A Renfrewshire Council spokesperson said: "Community halls, including the McKillop Institute, which are currently connected to the council network are being upgraded to full gigabit fibre.

"Alongside this, we are currently reviewing wifi provision across the full council estate."