Council Leader asks Buddies to share their stories

Renfrewshire Council Leader Mark Macmillan is urging everyone associated with the town to back plans to promote Paisley to the world.

The local authority’s summer-long ‘What’s Our Story?’ campaign asks people to share their stories and ideas and help create a new destination brand for the region.

A dedicated website at whatsourstory.co.uk features stories, suggestions and photographs submitted by the public and the conversation on social media has focused around the hashtag #MyStoryMyTown. Comment cards are also available at over 40 prominent public venues across the area.

Councillor Macmillan said: “A destination brand for Paisley is part of our wider drive to regenerate the entire region. The UK City of Culture 2021 bid has started a local and national conversation about the town and we want to continue that process and tell the untold story of our region. It’s such a great story to tell, and we want people’s help to tell it to the world and put Paisley and Renfrewshire back on the map.”

“Often, place brands are created and then presented to the local public as something of a done deal. We don’t want to do that. We’ve received hundreds of responses already and, from people stopping in the Piazza Shopping Centre to give their views to ex-pat Buddies as far away as Canada sharing on social media, it is clear that people are passionate about this town and want to see it thrive.

“We have been speaking to people of all ages on this, from the young ones at Renfrewshire Leisure summer activity camps and the Street Stuff kids to the elderly members of Reaching Older Adults across Renfrewshire and Paisley Central Library’s reminiscence group. For some, St Mirren winning the Scottish Cup in 1987 was the greatest day of their lives! Others are sharing memories of places going to the newly-refurbished Russell Institute, but in their time it was to get their teeth pulled out.

“Paisley is built on stories and memories like these and this fantastic response is generating a wealth of ideas as well as informing and inspiring what we all want the brand to be.”

“A new destination brand will help us market and promote the area at home and abroad, and for it to be a success, we will need everyone to get behind it.”