Views sought on Paisley town centre safety initiative

A survey has been launched seeking the views of Paisley town centre residents and visitors following a six-week intervention designed to build safer and stronger communities.

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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 local people and businesses to have their say on how to make Paisley town centre safer and an action plan was devised to tackle the main issues.

This was the first time that the initiative had tackled a town centre which brought fresh challenges for the working group having previously worked in wider community areas.

It addressed 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 enforcement action to tackle illegal parking.

Detective Chief Inspector Douglas Falconer, Renfrewshire & Inverclyde Division said: “The Paisley town centre initiative is an excellent example of how partnership working can benefit the entire community.

“We listened to what the people of Paisley have raised as their main issues to date and over the past few weeks have addressed many of those concerns.

“We have provided high visibility patrols to reassure and offer advice and guidance to local residents around specific issues such as personal safety and antisocial behaviour.

“We would encourage anyone living or visiting Paisley town centre to continue to let us know of any concerns they have, in order that we help make Paisley town centre a safer place for all.”

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.

Councillor Marie McGurk, Convener of Renfrewshire Council’s Communities, Housing and Planning Policy Board, said: “This campaign has made a fantastic difference in a number of communities in Renfrewshire which had been facing issues affecting the safety of people in the area – and Paisley town centre was the latest.

“All the partners involved in the project worked hard to listen to what local people told us were the main issues and implemented actions to make a difference.

“We’ve seen a visible change in to the town centre, but we want to know what local people think as we evaluate the campaign and plan our ongoing support to maintain any improvements.

“Please fill out the survey and let us know how you thought the campaign went and what Paisley town centre is like today.”

Anyone can take part in the survey, which closes at midnight on Sunday 26 January, at www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/YourHomeYourStreet.