November 12 2021

Renfrewshire Council has invited the public to have their say on plans by Ironside Farrar for the transformation of Paisley's County Square into an expanded outdoor gathering space.

Intended to complement the renewal of the museum and town hall the public realm programme will see the square made level to improve accessibility and create more space for seating and markets.

These works will see high-quality paving laid together with new lighting and the removal of street furniture and planting to 'declutter' the space. Another key move will be the relocation of queuing taxis to Central Way which is estimated to increase usable space in the square by a quarter.

Renfrewshire Council leader Iain Nicolson commented: “The past 18 months has shown the importance of high-quality outdoor space, and with four million people passing through Paisley Gilmour Station each year pre-pandemic, County Square is the town centre’s gateway to the world. And with us expecting in excess of 125,000 visitors a year to the transformed museum when it reopens in 2023, the square will be many people’s first impression of the town – so we want it to be a positive one.

“At the same time, the square needs to continue to work as a transport interchange – and the solution for the taxi rank maintains easy access to taxis for train passengers and helps drivers move through the town, while expanding the space available in the square for other activity."

Work to the square will complement connectivity with the developing Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland as a jumping-off point for active travel routes along the White Cart River.

A sister project to improve the public realm around Abbey Close for outdoor activity is being conducted in tandem.

7 Comments

#1 Posted by Fat Bloke on Tour on 12 Nov 2021 at 15:14 PM

How many times in the past 25 years has this piece of real estate been upgraded / rebuilt / re-surfaced?

The problem is not the square it is the "city" that is attached to it.

Braehead is the culprit but the efforts to energise the centre have been poor at every level.

PGS needs a direct connection to the airport now.
It will boost both the urban area and the airport itself.

Then Glasgow Crossrail needs to be built so that PGS has direct access to the rest of Scotland and not just GC Station.

New paving is just more money wasted.

#2 Posted by Graeme McCormick on 12 Nov 2021 at 15:56 PM

Paisley gets more than its fair share of wet and windy days and can be pretty bleak . Although most of the buildings in the Square are impressive the bleakness would be reduced by clothing the Square and Gilmour Sreet with some manicured trees around the edges. I doubt if the Piazza will remain a shopping centre much longer so its possible alternative uses such as music ,culture, sports, hotel or even residential venue should be considered when the final plan for the square is determined. Paisley is not well served with hotels. The Piazza site would seem a prime site for this.

#3 Posted by Cameron Swanson on 13 Nov 2021 at 08:56 AM

Disappointingly unimaginative and ilconsidered. Instead of using this great opportunity to add a little green space, they're actually removing trees?!

If the council want to make Paisley Town Centre somewhere that people want to live and at the same time make a positive effect on the environment, they need to start taking this seriously. Adding a few bike stands without considering cycle routing will have no impact at all. The other 'events space' in front of Paisley Town Hall also reduces green space in a town centre already severely lacking.

County Square on 3 out of 4 sides has excellent facades. Why not kill two birds with one stone and plant some trees along the East Side of the square to obscure the architectural horror of the Piazza.

How about take it a step even further - County Gardens has a nice ring to it

#4 Posted by heidfirst on 13 Nov 2021 at 13:04 PM

I agree with Graeme & Cameron - let us make it a greener, pleasanter square rather than a bare, hard area.

#5 Posted by Fluorescent Pineapple on 14 Nov 2021 at 17:10 PM

Paisley is in dire need of some gentrification.

#6 Posted by Back to the future on 16 Nov 2021 at 10:38 AM

What we want is a return to the 1950's (minus the TB) and no questions will be asked about either the Piazza or Braehead.

At least, the jail would have been good for refurbing into flats. That and trees. What more do you want?

But, I'm forgetting, Renfrewshire Council have got a whole retinue of courtiers and advisors to pay handsomely while producing nothing other than cupboards full of paper and air-sourced heat and on and on and on...

#7 Posted by cmcc on 26 Nov 2021 at 12:19 PM

Agree with a lot of these comments, maybe looking at the feedback from the What if...? charrette before proposing more hard landscape mince

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