April 2010 Update

Thursday, 1st April 2010

Ciba (BASF) Paisley redundancies

This week BASF the owners of Ciba plant in Hawkhead Road announced a worldwide restructuring, which will see 232 of the remaining 352 jobs at the Paisley plant go over the next three years. This is a real blow to the town and to all the families involved. I immediately met with plant managers on Tuesday most of the redundancies are on hold till 2011 or 2012. I am already pressing Scottish Enterprise to do all it can to assist those affected to find alternative employment.  At  First Minister’s Questions in Parliament on Thursday I called on the Scottish Government to publish the study currently underway on the future of the site. I have two tasks ahead. The Scottish Government should act in the interests of our local economy. The March budget provided the Scottish Government with an unexpected windfall of £82m. I want part of this to go to re-instating the Glasgow Airport Rail Link which independent commentators estimate is worth 1300 extra jobs to the local economy, half of them in Renfrewshire. The second task is to secure the future of the site by attracting new users who could share services with the ongoing BASF plant. The Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and local council should be looking at the potential to have a Paisley Innovation Centre on the site.

New Tesco store at Wallneuk

The Council has recently agreed to grant planning permission to Tesco for a new store at Wallneuk, Paisley. The site is on the east side of Renfrew Road, before the railway and would replace vacant warehouses, the former petrol filling station, the bowling alley and lorry park. The proposed store would operate on a 24 hour basis.

Many people had urged other sites more centrally located in the Town Centre for Tesco. For example, both the former Littlewoods and the Co-op department store remain on the market and the Arnotts site was available. There was a fear that too few customers will walk from Wallneuk to the Town Centre. There is also concern about new traffic congestion on the town’s main road system. The Council’s officials estimated the impact on like for like shopping in Paisley Town Centre at 7%.

But supporters successfully argued that the scale of the store will counter Silverburn and large scale stores at Braehead so making a positive contribution toward improving the vitality and viability of Paisley town Centre. It is hoped that the development would enable residents of Paisley to shop more locally, i.e. rather than Braehead and Silverburn; it would also reduce vehicle movement. Linkages to the Town Centre will be improved by the provision of a dedicated shuttle bus.

The new store will bring 600 new jobs. Tesco are committing to recruiting 50% of its staff at Wallneuk from those who have been out of work for 6 months or more.

The Council concluded that as the development would represent a substantial investment in Paisley, would involve the creation of employment opportunities, and would significantly improve the appearance of this key entry point to the Town Centre they would grant planning pernmission. And within 3 months of the opening of the store there will be a review of the affected road network to ensure that changes to roads infrastructure and urban traffic controls are functioning properly.

Full copies of the papers can be found here and site layout

Love St Stadium site

The site of the football stadium will now become a residential development with associated car parking and landscaping.

Future of Arnott’s site

The regeneration of former Arnotts site is finally underway as a mixed retail/residential/office development. The Council has all the monies it received from the Town Centre Regeneration Fund to part purchase the Arnotts site.

The Lagoon

I have recently taken up constituents’ concerns about problems at the Lagoon; specifically over the Centre being closed for periods of time and some items of equipment being of out of commission or poorly maintained.

Further new investment is planned to turn the Lagoon into a Community Sports Hub serving the whole of Paisley. £7m extra will be invested before 2014

I am however concerned that of £92m of investment in new leisure, education and community facilities planned between 2010 and 2014 across Renfrewshire only £7m (for the Lagoon) is coming to Paisley. Whilst monies for new buildings cannot be shared out exactly equally. It is worrying that Paisley with over a third of Renfrewshire’s population is getting only 8% of the new capital investment in the next 4 years.

Click here to read the Renfrewshire Community Infrastructure Plan about where £92m is going.

Town Centre conservation scheme

Better news, the Heritage Lottery Fund and Historic Scotland are putting £2m towards a makeover of the South end of the town centre to clean up historic buildings in Causeyside Street from Forbes Place and Laigh Kirk Lane to Orchard Street, Johnstone Street, Gordon Street and Canal Street. The cash will restore tenements, shops and the old fire station on Gordon Street.

Old Council HQ, Cotton St

The old, now derelict, Renfrewshire Council HQ is to be replaced by 137 new homes with construction due to start shortly and removing another blot on the town centre landscape.

Paisley Abbey

The Abbey will celebrate its 850th Anniversary of its founding in September 2013. Over the next two years as new entrance and better visitor facilities adapted to host more concerts and conferences will be created with the aim of strengthening its place in the town’s cultural life.

Penilee and Seedhill Playing fields

Both have been given welcome upgrades with both having synthetic floodlit pitches as well as grass pitches and upgraded pavilions. By all accounts the facilities are proving very popular with local teams of all ages keen to avoid the West of Scotland winter weather leading to a cancellation of many fixtures – all too common on local grass pitches such as the Racecourse.

Traffic Calming and crossings

This has now happened on Gallowhill Road and Netherhill Road. There is a local inquiry planned by the Council on traffic calming options for Arkleston Road. Also the Roads department are now counting vehicles to assess the case for a pedestrian crossing at Hawkhead Road near the railway station and they also accept the representations I have made about problems of road safety on the zebra crossing at the junction of Love Street/Albion Street and North Street.

Ward policing plans

There is also an encouraging fall in serious crime locally, with higher detection rates and a greater focus on community policing. More ‘Bobbies on the beat’, in their communities is something I press for at every meeting I have with senior police chiefs in Mill Street. One encouraging development is new individual policing plans for each ward in Renfrewshire. This is a first for Paisley – to see your local policing plan click on your area below and scroll down to the CP Plan 2010-2011 at bottom. You will also notice some very useful information about your local Community Policing Team and local crime statistics

Paisley East & Ralston
Paisley North West
Paisley South
All Paisley – unsure which area is yours? Choose on the Paisley map

Neighbourhood wardens

You should be aware that the neighbourhood warden service now operates in Paisley town centre, with five wardens allocated to the town centre to liaise with the police, provide a point of contact for retailers and the general public and to deal directly with low level anti-social behaviour.

Playpark refurbishment

For too long our local playparks have been neglected. I am glad to report some recent progress. £15k is to be spent upgrading Darkwood Crescent and Maxwellton Court play parks. Future priority will go to Ben Lawers, McKerrell Street and Glencoats Park play areas.

Upgrade for the Tannahill Centre

Well done to Ferguslie Park Housing Association who have been awarded £1m to modernise the Tannahill Centre. The cash will help provide a new fitness suite, business units and computer training suite.

Scrapping of Senior Citizen vouchers

Several constituents have written to express their frustration at Renfrewshire Council’s decision to scrap the offer of a trip or a voucher to those over 70 in Renfrewshire. For a number of years those qualifying under the scheme had the option of a “trip doon the watter” or could use the voucher towards their rent or Council Tax. The savings from the scrapping of the scheme will be absorbed by the Social Work budget; albeit they are meant to be specifically be redirected to care for the elderly.