From despair to des res… how City of Culture bid is revitalising Paisley

TO outsiders it’s often merely regarded as the town that launched countless patterned shawls, the home of the Buddies or a place to park the car before catching a holiday flight.

Down the years even the locals would probably agree that Paisley had seen better days. With its share of food banks, poverty, empty shops and long-gone industry, the town could easily have laboured on under a grey cloud of despair.

Instead, according to the forces behind the town’s UK City of Culture 2021 bid, locals have found a new passion for Paisley which, partly thanks to the competition’s focus on the positive aspects of the town’s character and rich history, has led to fresh optimism and confidence.

They say that in the two years since the UK City of Culture 2021 bid was launched visitor numbers to the town have soared, while a series of high-profile events involving celebrities such as home-grown talent Paolo Nutini, have helped transform Paisley’s downbeat image.

That, along with the prospect of a major boost to the economy and town’s profile should it win the coveted City of Culture title, is now being heralded as the driving force behind a fresh enthusiasm for the town which hasn’t been seen for years.

The town officially declared its title ambitions at Paisley Abbey on November 13, 2015, as part of a wider plan to transform the area. The organisers say since then more than 34,000 people have been involved in the conversation around the bid – which is around half the town’s population.

However, news in July that Paisley had been shortlisted for the title along with Coventry, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Swansea, is said to have sparked an “overnight” change among locals’ attitude to their town.

Sharon McAulay, from the Paisley-based STAR Project, said: “The impact of the bid so far has been huge. When we were shortlisted attitudes literally changed overnight. People believe that we can actually do this, that Paisley is so much more than a bunch of negative statistics.

“There is a real sense of future change and opportunity for all.”

Paisley’s events calendar has seen an increase of more than 34,000 visitor numbers in 2017 so far, with a number of events still to take place. Tourism to the town has soared too, with a 37 per cent increase in visitors to major events travelling from outside Renfrewshire.

The bid has also attracted support from more than 200 local businesses and sponsors. Glasgow Airport, drinks giant Diageo and Chivas Brothers have pledged funding totalling £260,000 if Paisley wins the title in December, while it’s been suggested that hosting the City of Culture title could create the equivalent of 4,700 jobs over 10 years and provide a

£175 million economic boost to the local economy. It’s a drift away from the popular image of Paisley, with its notorious Ferguslie Park estate which regularly takes the unwelcome title of Scotland’s most deprived area. Experts have warned many of its residents live below the breadline, will die younger, struggle at school and have less chance of finding well-paid work.

Paisley 2021 bid director Jean Cameron said: “Launching the bid has generated a positive outlook for the future in the town and surrounding areas.

“Paisley’s connections throughout the UK and the rest of the world have continued to grow in the two years since the bid was launched.

“We have seen Paisley designers showcase their work at London Craft Week and reach new markets from their base in the town. There have also been a number of international link-ups.

“We have initiated cultural conversations at Westminster and thanks to our £1m Culture, Heritage and Events Fund, the local creative scene is benefiting from new national partnerships.”

Alan McNiven, the CEO of community group Engage Renfrewshire, agreed that the bid has had a spin-off impact in raising the town’s confidence.

“The bid has created an atmosphere of energised excitement – and that energy has created countless amazing, emotional moments over the last two years.

“It has captured the community’s growing confidence in a brighter future for Paisley.”

A decision by competition organisers the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is expected next month.

There is a real sense of future change and opportunity for all