Town centre demolition work on schedule

Mar 10 2010 by Jeff Holmes, Paisley Daily Express

COUNCIL leader Derek Mackay stood amida pile of rubble yesterday and allowed himself a wry smile.

Demolition work at the former Renfrewshire Council HQ in Cotton Street is at the halfway point and the £14million Paisley town centre development is bang on schedule.

As the man who heads up Paisley Vision Board, this is one development Mackay has been involved in since day one.

He said: “Being involved throughout, naturally I’m keen to see the plans come to fruition.

“I pass the site every day but it’s only now that it’s starting to show signs of moving ahead, although much work has already been done behind the scenes.”

He added: “I was standing on the rubble, just before the cameras started clicking, when I noticed a small sign sticking out of a small pile of rubble.

“It said: ‘Parking Space for Provost’. That made me chuckle as I pictured the Provost trying to manoeuvre her car in between the bricks and rubble!”

Mr Mackay was meeting up with key partners from Westpoint Homes and Link Group on the site of the demolition, which is being transformed into a landmark residential and commercial development.

They were there to see the ongoing work which will eventually see the construction of 137 affordable homes, as well as commercial space.

He was joined by Graham McNeil, development director of Westpoint Homes and Craig Sanderson, chief executive of Link Group, and said: “There has been great interest in what we’re doing here.

“What’s happening is unique. People recognise that town centre development at the moment isn’t actually in abundance.

“I’d also like to think that this could represent a turning point for Paisley, but we’ll wait and see.”

Once demolition is complete in late Spring, building work will begin on phase one of the four-phase project overlooking Paisley Abbey, which is regarded as a major step forward in the regeneration of the town centre.

Phase one of the development will be delivered by Westpoint in partnership with affordable housing provider Link Group, with funding from the Royal Bank of Scotland, creating 30 two-bedroom homes available under the New Supply Shared Equity scheme (NSSE) through Link.

This first phase has received £1.59 million of funding from the Scottish Government.

Mr Mackay said: “It may be a building site at the moment but if everything continues to go as planned we will be looking at houses on the site in just over a year.”