SHRUBS and flower beds in a leafy village have been cut down in a move slammed as a "nuclear strike" on nature.

Kilbarchan councillor Andy Doig has hit out at the action he says has been carried out across Renfrewshire.

SNP councillor Doig said constituents have complained to him about changes at the approach to Kilbarchan from Johnstone.

He added: "I'm calling on the council to think again about ripping up shrubs and flower beds in our town centres and villages.

"My constituents in Cartside Terrace in Kilbarchan think their area looks like the day after a nuclear strike as Labour have ripped out all the shrubs."

A motion calling for flowers to be retained was put to a recent meeting of the council's environment policy board.

Mr Doig added: "Sadly all Labour councillors on the board, including the two for Kilbarchan and Johnstone town centre, all voted down this sensible SNP amendment.

"We felt it important that conservation villages, like Kilbarchan especially, deserve to be treated with more respect and at least residents and comm-unity councils should have been consulted, yet they have not been.

"During the debate in the chamber the point was made that all ward councillors for Kilb-archan had been cont-acted about the bushes at the Cartside Terrace end of the village, and indeed, that is the case.

"But my constituents wanted them tidied and made to look acceptable, not the wholesale ripping up of an area to denude it of plant life."

He blamed cuts to the council's environment budget for the action, adding: "These cuts are firmly made in Paisley by the ruling clique within Paisley Labour. No thought has been given to the importance of Johnstone.

"Soon the new wedding suite will be in the new Johnstone Town Hall, and couples will be forced to have their pictures taken in Ludovic Square with no flowers or fauna, what a lost opportunity to showcase Johnstone".

In response, Counc-illor Eddie Devine, convener of Renfrew-shire Council's environ-ment policy board, said: "The shrubs were removed from both areas after consultation with local elected members, including Councillor Andy Doig.

"In Kilbarchan, the entrance to the village was blighted by what was essentially a litter trap. In Johnstone, there will be a new decorative garden area designed for photos following marriage ceremonies at the new Johnstone Town Hall.

"As for cuts in budgets, Renfrewshire Council and the community of Renfrew-shire have to deal with the impact of contin-uing cuts in Scottish Government funding."

ewan.fergus@ eveningtimes.co.uk