£12M CINEMA BID UNVEILED
AMBITIOUS PLANS TO TRANSFORM PAISLEY HIGH STREET
It could be lights, camera, action for Paisley High Street as ambitious plans to create a £12millon cinema are unveiled.
The team behind the Baker Street project - which was scrapped to make way for flats - have now turned their attention to the Bargain Buys store.
Paisley Community Trust (PCT) has revealed it’s now in discussions about buying the site with a view to raising the curtain on the new community cinema by 2023.
It’s hoped the impressive town centre development could deliver a £40million economic boost to the area and bring in around five
million new visitors to the town.
It could also see the creation of more than 50 jobs over the next decade and provide £5million of reinvestment back into community projects.
PCT has drawn up plans to create five screens - each seating between 40 and 160 people - as well as a bar and restaurant, a rooftop cafe bar, a digital skills academy, a cinema heritage museum and community spaces, while it is hoped Bargain Buys will continue to trade in an enhanced retail unit on the ground floor.
The Secret Collection museum store in the basement of the building would also remain in place with an upgraded entrance and access.
The plan is being teed up as “Project One” of the Paisley Vision for 2030 - a tenyear blueprint unveiled earlier this year by Renfrewshire Council, the Scottish Government and Scotland’s Towns Partnership, which imagines ideas for what the town centre could look like in a decade.
In February, PCT signed a strategic partnership agreement with the council so the two groups could work together to deliver the new cinema - something which has not been seen in Paisley since the closure of The Kelburne in the 1980s.
Gary Kerr, PCT chairman, said he was excited to be involved with a project he believes could be transformational for the town.
He said: “We think this is going to be a massive shot in the arm for Paisley because the town has been bereft of cinema for 30 years.
“We were really encouraged when we saw the Paisley Vision - which we contributed to - that it was centred on cinema and we are really pleased to see everything aligning now. We’re really excited to be involved in this.
“We feel the timing is very much right for this now as we are starting to come out of the Covid-19 crisis.
“A few people have said to me we are giving people a beacon of hope for the regeneration of the town.”
The idea of bringing cinema back to Paisley began a few years ago when PCT earmarked the site of the former Arnotts for a development called Baker Street.
But that dream was dashed when it emerged new social housing was to be built there.
However, the team’s minds had already begun to switch to how a cinema could have a direct impact on the High Street and, after receiving funding from the council and Regional Screen Scotland they were able to shortlist a few potential sites.
The YMCA building and the former Woolworths site were also considered by the charity as possible homes for the cinema.
But, after a consultation with the public and a visit to the site by Gary and PCT vice chair Andy Campbell, the Bargain Buys site came out on top.
Andy said: “We assessed all the data and the views and we came up with our preferred location of Bargain Buys.
“It’s got such a fantastic viewpoint. It’s right next to Paisley Cross, but what an eyesore of a building and we just thought, what can we do?
“The rooftop has one of the best views in Paisley ready to be shown and we want to do something that frames the views of the town and its spectacular architecture.”
Gary added: “Baker Street is really a distant memory for us now. It was a disappointment at the time, but our focus was already starting to shift to the High Street.
“We’re excited to start turning this vision into action now because we believe this isn’t just a cinema but something that’s going to be really beneficial from an economic perspective.”
PCT is now starting to look at a variety of ways of funding the project through its various phases, with options such as the Lottery, Scottish Government regeneration funds, the Scottish Investment Bank and money from the council all being considered.
Renfrewshire Council leader Iain Nicolson said: “We are working hard to ensure Renfrewshire is a place where communities and businesses can thrive and we know we can achieve this by working with community groups who share our aims and by supporting them to deliver on theirs.
“We’re happy to be working with Paisley Community Trust on their plans for a new High Street cinema which could complement the work we are already doing to transform Paisley’s future by investing in our historic venues and outdoor spaces.
“It’s great that the trust have chosen a preferred site for the cinema and they have applied for Government regeneration funding for their proposal. We’ll continue to offer our support to the trust to achieve their ambitions for Paisley.”
This is going to be a massive shot in the arm for Paisley because the town has been bereft of a cinema for 30 years