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Fun day to mark end of £1m town centre work

Renfrewshire Council is throwing a party to celebrate the end of a £1m investment which has transformed a section of Paisley town centre.

A family fun day will be held in Paisley’s Johnston Street on Saturday 14 September to show off the work carried out as part of the Townscape Heritage Initiative.

The event is on from noon to 5pm and includes a stage hosted by Pulse FM, giant games, kids’ entertainment, face painting, traditional building workshops and raffles with prizes from local firms.

Acts set to perform on the stage include boy-band Supanova and singers Carrie Mac and Murdo Mitchell.

The day out is intended as a thank-you to residents and traders in the area for their patience while the work was being carried out.

Saturday’s event will coincide with Doors Open Day, which takes place in Renfrewshire over the weekend, and will see around 60 buildings around the district giving residents and visitors a peek behind the scenes.

Since the turn of the year, the seven-figure sum has been invested in the area around Causeyside Street during the public realm works.

This has included wider pavements, landscaping, new trees, and improved parking and loading bays for residents, shoppers and traders.

Paisley-THIThe work has been designed to reflect Paisley’s rich industrial heritage, with special features including a Paisley Pattern set into stone at the junction of Johnston Street and Gordon Street, as well as carved feature strips showing mill workers’ trades.

The overall project is being funded by Renfrewshire Council, the Heritage Lottery Fund, and Historic Scotland.

Councillor Terry Kelly, Convener of Renfrewshire Council’s Planning and Property Policy Board, said: “The council and its partners have made a significant investment in this part of the town over the past year, and this event is a way of showing that off.

“Our staff and contractors went to great lengths during the project to minimise disruption to residents and traders, and we are grateful for their co-operation.

“We have laid on a great programme of activities for Saturday afternoon, and I would encourage all residents to get themselves down to Johnston Street, check out the quality of the work, and enjoy the entertainment.”

The Causeyside Street work took place as part of the wider Townscape Heritage Initiative/Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme, which is a £3.5m project to help restore important built heritage within Paisley town centre.

The project has already involved a £500k restoration of the B-listed Paisley Arts Centre, completed last year, and includes current work to revamp a C-listed building in Forbes Place.

It also includes a grant scheme where retail businesses within the project area can apply for up to 90% of the costs of restoring traditionally-designed shopfronts.

Content Courtesy of Renfrewshire Council.

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Founder of Paisley.org.uk in 1998 and constantly strives to change peoples attitudes to the town, Brian is a self described Paisley Digital Champion who promotes Paisley via any means necessary. You can also follow me on X