Paisley
February 16, 2011
Facilitated by Kevin Murray, this event brought together key Paisley stakeholders and members of the Town Centres and Local High Streets Learning Network to discuss the future of our towns - with a particular emphasis on looking beyond retail as the sole solution.
Outline
The day began with a number of key stakeholders from Paisley painting a picture of how well the town centre is doing currently and what they would like it to become. Three themes were identified by Renfrewshire Council:
- Paisley as a university town - How can the town centre better interact with the large number of students passing through it each day?
- Refocusing Paisley's retail core - The town is surrounded by major out of town shopping centres and it is recognised that it cannot compete, but what can it offer that the large shopping centres cannot?
- Events and Marketing - A number of successful events have already taken place in Paisley. How can such events be further developed and how can Paisley be marketed as a desirable destination?
The suggestions that emerged from the day will help inform a future action plan for Paisley Town Centre.
Presentations
- Bob Darracott (Head of Planning and Transport, Renfrewshire Council) opened the day by providing an overview of the Paisley Town Centre Action Plan. >> view presentation
- Sean Robinson (Park Lane Group) highlighted how Paisley Town Centre is delivering regeneration through Public and Private Partnerships. Highlighting the re-development of the former Paisley Arnotts Store. >> view presentation
- Matt Corrigan (Lincoln BIG) delivered a presentation on how Lincoln as regenerated itself into a 'University Town' and captured the economic and social benefits a town can harness from having a college or university located in its centre. >> view presentation
- Liz Davidson (Project Director, Merchant City Initiative) highlighted the important role that events and marketing can play in the regeneration of a town. >> view presentation
- Tom Johnstone (Colliers CRE) delivered a presentation on how Paisley can begin to think different about its retail core, more specifically, the creation of a 'Retail Outlet' approach. >> view presentation
Scott Allan (Head of Roads and Transportation, Renfrewshire Council) provided an overview of traffic and transportation issues within Paisley town centre and specifically highlighted the Councils 'Quality Bus Partnership' which helped dramatically improve the bus transport offer to people living and travelling around Paisley.>> view presentation
Bill Millan (Director of Estates, University of West of Scotland) provided an input on the links the University has with the town centre and also outlined future development plans for the campus.>> view presentation