Action plan revealed as part of drive to make Paisley town centre safer

Key partners from across Renfrewshire have joined forces to carry out a six-week intervention in Paisley town centre as part of a national campaign to build safer and stronger communities.

Led by Police Scotland, the Your Home, Your Street, Our Community programme is supported by Renfrewshire Council, Engage Renfrewshire, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Renfrewshire Leisure and the Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership, alongside Paisley First, and sets out to tackle the issues that matter to local residents.

A survey was carried out inviting all local residents and businesses to have their say on how to make the town centre safer and the partners have come together to create an action plan to tackle the main issues.

It will address perceived problems including antisocial behaviour, drug offences and night-time safety, with actions such as additional police and warden patrols, mobile CCTV, taxi marshalling at weekends and open days for young people to showcase the youth activities available.

A fuller list of the actions set to be carried out can be found on the council website.

Chief Superintendent Alan Murray, Divisional Commander of Police Scotland Renfrewshire & Inverclyde Division, said: “We want local residents, businesses and visitors to Paisley town centre to play an active part in highlighting and addressing safety concerns within this community.

“Thank you to everyone who filled out the survey highlighting their main concerns and we will now work closely with our partners to address them over the coming weeks.

“By working together, we are aiming to improve services, reduce crime and provide a safe and pleasant environment for members of the public coming into the town centre.”

Paisley town centre is the latest area to benefit from the programme following successful interventions in Shortroods, Erskine, Ferguslie and Gallowhill, where the work carried out noted a significant decrease in the issues initially identified by residents in those areas.

The most recent intervention in Shortroods saw 74.5% of respondents, an increase of 17.5%, stating they felt Shortroods was a fairly good, good or very good place to live, 65% of residents now feeling safe in their neighbourhoods, an increase of 31.5%, and more than 86% felt safe in their homes thanks to the work of the programme.

Councillor Marie McGurk, Convener of Renfrewshire Council’s Communities, Housing and Planning Policy Board, said: “This programme has been successful across Renfrewshire already and we’re confident we will see similar results within Paisley town centre as we work together to make the area safer.

“The action plan considers what the local community have told us the main issues are and we are allocating our resources specifically to tackle these problems, with the aim of bringing a tangible difference to the perception of safety that our residents and businesses can see happening across the six-week period.

“While we won’t completely solve every issue in six weeks, we will certainly make a positive difference to the town centre and ensure that is a safer, more welcoming place for people to live, work and visit and we’ll support the community to continue the improvements once the intervention period is over.”

For more information on the programme and the Paisley town centre action plan, visit www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/YourHomeYourStreet.