Paisley and Renfrewshire Development

[Homer86]

Gilmour street in for a freshen up

http://www.paisleydailyexpress.co.uk...7085-27013530/

[NorthLimitation]

Is that the beautiful Victorian one in Paisley?

[Homer86]

Aye they cleaned the stone work that over looks county square a while back, The roof does need work, its currently a mixture of corrugated plastic and metal which takes so much away from the original metal work which is also in need of some fresh paint, I don't have any of my own pictures but got this one from google gives you an idea of how dark it is.

[Homer86]

Arkleston Court in Gallowhill days are numbered, thankfully, just a shame they are not pulling the other two down with it. Reclad and refurb are planned for them

http://www.paisleydailyexpress.co.uk...7085-27336531/

[M_Riaz]

Eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk

Main Street Makeover Underway

Artists' impression showing how Barrhead's Main Street will look once the regeneration project has been completed.

Work has started on the regeneration project for Main Street, Barrhead which will include a major facelift for the shopping centre.

The centre’s exterior is to be repainted and new windows installed throughout. For this the council secured £36,000 from the Government’s town centre regeneration fund. A further £24,000 private investment will come from the owners of Barrhead Shopping Centre, Barrhead Shopping Centre LLP.
A new ‘straight-through’ pedestrian crossing will replace the existing staggered crossing right at the heart of the main shopping centre.

This will allow quicker and easier movement between the two sides of the street, and will result in this section of Main Street being less car dominated.

But to make sure that visitors will continue to have direct access to the range of shops and for the benefit of local businesses, some on-street car parking bays will be created to encourage passing trade.

As with Cross Arthurlie Street, new, high quality paving stones will be introduced to improve the appearance of Main Street. The total cost of this work is just over £300,000.

It is anticipated the redevelopment programme will take around 10 weeks to complete, and is expected to be finished by December.

This work compliments other Town Centre Regeneration Fund work including the £40,000 canopy and lighting upgrade and also the £300,000 public realm improvements in Main Street.

Good news for customers is that the shopping centre has removed parking charges.

Economic development convener, Councillor Tony Buchanan, said: “Thanks to our successful bid to the Scottish Government town centre regeneration fund, we have been able to make substantial improvements to Barrhead’s two main shopping areas.

“Cross Arthurlie is now complete after it’s £800,000 road and street improvements. Now it’s the turn of Main Street. At a time of real economic difficulty right across the country, investment in improving our shopping areas will be a real long term benefit to local businesses and residents.”

[Quirinalian]

Just looked at Barrhead Shopping Centre on Google Maps. Pretty dire, so well worth some regenerating.

Still, one wonders how the likes of nearby Linwood are still - after many years - looking like third-world hellholes. Barrhead is like central Paris in comparison.

[Ghincks]

The roads are a complete mess and they spend money on shopping centre face-lifts. This set of priorities is starting to get into third world territory. The sad but funny thing is that roads in Pakistan, India or Vietnam are years ahead in quality compared toScotland's makeshift survival courses.

[Quirinalian]

Well, I don't think poor roads will make or break an area's reputation. Poor buildings and a neglected urban environment certainly will.

Indeed, I think roads all across the UK are suffering a bit at the moment, considering the last two winters.

[bestbud]

Gilmour Street roof renewal should start very soon.

[bestbud]

Right on cue:

Network Rail engineers will begin work this month on a £9m project to create a fully-glazed roof covering all of the platforms and track at Paisley Gilmour Street station.

The new 4,740sqm roof will be installed in sections over the next nine months without disruption to train services and with minimal disruption to the operation of the B-listed station.

As part of the project, which is being carried out by C Spencer Ltd, the current platform canopies will be removed, the existing steelwork repaired and repainted and its foundations strengthened.

The scheme, which will be completed by Christmas 2011, will also involve the alteration of overhead power lines within the station and buildings on the platforms will also be repainted.

The roof will be installed in three sections with the initial phase of the works taking place above the east end of the station. In order to allow engineers to work safely while the station is open, decks will be installed between the roof and the platforms below.

The work at Gilmour Street will take place alongside the £170m Paisley Corridor Improvements (PCI) project which will upgrade the track and signalling on the busy rail corridor between Shields junction in Glasgow and Paisley Gilmour Street station.

Once complete, PCI will improve capacity on the route and allow for increased levels of service between Glasgow and Ayrshire, Renfrewshire and Inverclyde. The PCI works are being funded by Transport Scotland and Network Rail and previous phases of the project have already delivered two new platforms at Glasgow Central station and a new freight loop at Elderslie.

Ron McAulay, Director Scotland for Network Rail, said: “With more than three million passengers a year, Paisley Gilmour Street is one of the busiest stations in Scotland. This project will help to ensure the station continues to be able to play an important role in the local economy, providing an improved facility for passengers.

“This station enhancement, combined with the ongoing Paisley Corridor Improvements project, demonstrates the rail industry’s commitment to providing the best possible services and facilities to the travelling public.”

Derek Barr, Project manager for Spencer, added: "We are extremely pleased to deliver a solution for the new roof which will allow people to go about their daily commute as we build the roof above them.

"I am sure that when the work is finished, the new look station will make a real impression on people visiting the area."

I hope the don't forget the overhead lines, like the architect has.

Aerial view of completed roof

Aerial view of current roof

I have to say I'm exremely impressed. Gilmour street was long in need of this.

[Pious Fraud]

Work starts on new £13m student accommodation

Evening Times 18th May 2011

Work has begun on a new multi-million pound student residence in the heart of Paisley town centre.

The University of the West of Scotland’s new £13.2million student residences development in the heart of the town is one step closer following an official groundbreaking ceremony at the site where the new complex is to be built.

The development – which will be built on the site of the University’s Storie Street car park and will see the creation of 336 bed spaces – is expected to be completed in August 2012.

Clearance work of the site began in April. The project is part of the University’s £250m investment programme, which also includes a new £70m Ayr Campus and upgrade of classrooms and IT infrastructure across all campuses.

Professor Seamus McDaid, Principal and Vice Chancellor of the university, said: “We are delighted that our new Paisley Campus residences development, which illustrates our deep commitment to providing the very best facilities for our students, is one step closer.

“The development of modern accommodation in the heart of Paisley is crucial to our ambitions to attract and retain more students.

“ And it is part of a wider investment programme to improve the quality of our estate across all four campuses.

“This new development will increase the significant contribution that the University makes to the local economy, greatly enhancing the centre of Paisley and bringing long-term benefits to the town.”

The new student accommodation will include bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms and communal kitchen and living facilities provided for every cluster of six beds.

Plans also include a management suite, student lounge and laundry facilities.

A further £4.4m project for the refurbishment of some 160 University-owned flats at George Street and Lady Lane in Paisley is also being implemented during the summer to be ready for occupancy in September.

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/e...tion-1.1102112

[Homer86]

So glad these are being built here and not out at the existing complex on the way to barrhead, hopfully inject a bit of life into the town centre.

[Ghincks]

Originally Posted by Quirinalian

Well, I don't think poor roads will make or break an area's reputation. Poor buildings and a neglected urban environment certainly will.

Indeed, I think roads all across the UK are suffering a bit at the moment, considering the last two winters.

I completely agree but I think they should get the basics right first.

No-one's going to want to make the trip to the Piazza if it means a hefty repair bill afterwards or being rattled about on a bus like cattle on a lorry.

[Homer86]

Plans for visitors centre at Paisley Abbey any one have further details? Architects said to be Simpson & Brown but nothing on their website. Info and Images from Paisley2020.org.

[Quirinalian]

Oh dear God, no. A million times, no.

The little buildings attached to the Abbey are very pleasant, as are the cloisters. Covering them over with something that looks like a glorified cow-shed is surely too silly for anyone to even contemplate?

Fair enough, most of Paisley Abbey isn't all that old - it owes more to the Victorian Gothic Revival than anything in its mediaeval origins - but that's very little excuse for slapping something awful over it in the hope of attracting more visitors.

If they want a visitor's centre, there is a perfectly good bit of empty space opposite the abbey's main door, beside the town hall and with a nice outlook over the river. They could even build a balcony or something.

[foswellplace]

I could not agree more with quirillian...this is not only inappropriately sited, but looks very dated, very early nineties post-modernist.

a glass box a little distance away would be better....

[Homer86]

I agree it should not become part of the Abbey building its self there is a few Graves directly accross from on the Abbey main door but plenty of space between them and bridge street where this could go adding so much more to the area and witha river view (though it would need a tidy up) than some dodgy addon to the original building.

[Pious Fraud]

Lagoon set for £7.2m wave of upgrades

Evening Times 21st September 2011

A leisure centre swimming pool that has been at the heart of its community for almost a quarter of a century is to close for a massive revamp.

Paisley’s much-loved Lagoon Centre will close on Sunday as part of a £7.2million makeover.

The pool will re-open next April in time for the Easter holidays and the centre’s 25th anniversary with a new flume that promises to be faster and smoother than ever. Work will continue beyond the spring on a host of other improvements at the centre.

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/e...ades-1.1125036

[Pious Fraud]

£33k boost for historic fountain

Evening Times 4th January 2012

PLANS to restore a historic fountain in Paisley have received a £33,000 boost from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Renfrewshire Council’s Planning and Economic Development Service secured development funding of the cash for the first stage of restoring the Grand Fountain in Fountain Gardens.

The project aims to restore the A-listed fountain and raise awareness of its history.

It will also provide learning and training to improve local skills in traditional methods of working.

The lottery cash will fund an appraisal of the work required including interpreting the original rich heritage of the Victorian fountain.

Organisers hope a second application to the lottery fund will help secure more cash for the project.

Councillor Kenny MacLaren said: “The overall restoration of the Grand Fountain will cost in the region of £660,000.

“An application for a Historic Scotland Building Repair Grant for £100,000 was submitted by the council in September 2011, and we should know the outcome of this by early 2012.

“Renfrewshire Council has also committed financial support of nearly £20,000 to the project’s Fountain Gardens Endowment Fund.

“Many people in Paisley want to see the Grand Fountain restored to its former glory – but it has to be done properly, enhancing its heritage while providing it with a long-term, sustainable future.

“Hopefully we will now be able to go to the next stage: bidding for £500,000 to complete the restoration work.

“I look forward to seeing the Grand Fountain back in full working order as soon as possible.”

The Grand Fountain dates from 1868 and Historic Scotland has described it as “one of the most significant 19th-century, cast-iron ornamental spray fountains in Scotland”.

It was originally gifted to the people of Paisley by Victorian industrialist Thomas Coats and is a rare example of work made by George Smith & Company’s Sun Foundry in Glasgow and features four ‘walruses’.

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/3...tain-1.1142268

[Pious Fraud]

Raising the £9m roof

Evening Times 26th January 2012

THE WORK at Gilmour Street is taking place alongside the £170million Paisley Corridor Improvements (PCI) project upgrading the track and signalling between Shields junction in Glasgow and Paisley Gilmour Street station.

Network Rail say PCI will improve capacity and allow for increased services between Glasgow and Ayrshire, Renfrewshire and Inverclyde.

The Paisley corridor, which is an important route for commuters and freight traffic and had a state of the art signalling system installed over the last 12 months, suffered severe disruption this winter. The final stretch of the line from Arkleston to Gilmour Street has been upgraded to four track for even greater flexibility, rail bosses say.

The PCI works have been funded by Transport Scotland and Network Rail and previous phases of the project have already delivered two new platforms at Glasgow Central station and a new freight loop at Elderslie.

Over Christmas 2011 the main track works on PCI were completed and the new signalling systems on the route commissioned.

A STUNNING new glass roof at one of Scotland’s busiest stations is slowly being revealed by engineers.

The £9million project to construct the roof at Paisley’s historic Gilmour Street Station is reaching completion, although most of it is still under wraps.

The new roof is expected to be finished by March.

That is later than the originally promised completion date of the end of December last year, but the project has faced delays because it had to overcome serious and unexpected construction obstacles.

When work started at the beginning of last year, engineers discovered the foundations of the listed Victorian station were much weaker than expected, and extensive strengthening work was needed to allow the building to take the weight of the new 4740sq m roof.

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/r...roof-1.1145249