A new dawn
Homes, shops and a restaurant are set to rise from the ashes of blaze-hit historic Paton’s Mill
Housing, retail units and a drive-through restaurant are to be built at the former Paton’s Mill Site in Johnstone.
Councillors have given the goahead for the development by project and asset managers 4th Consulting ( Johnstone) Limited and @sipp (Pension Trustees).
The site was acquired by the company in January 2012 in the wake of a drive by Renfrewshire Council to identify a developer following significant fire damage in May 2010.
Claire Donaldson, of 4th Consulting, said: “We have worked closely throughout the process with Renfrewshire Council a n d Hi s t o r i c Environment Scotland, so we are delighted with the council’s decision to approve the full planning application.
“The council’s decision allows us to proceed with phase one of our plans with demolition commencing early this year, with a view to the build programme being completed by September 2018.
“Bringing an unoccupied site on this scale back into use can only add to the local economy and we hope this will be a catalyst for further regeneration in the Johnstone area.”
The company said the site presents a number of environmental challenges and the remains of the derelict firedamaged structures are in a poor state of repair.
Bosses said they have undertaken a full review of the site and the existing structures in a bid to assess their viability for retention.
Dating from 1782, Paton’s Mill was the founding building of the then new town of Johnstone, and was in use as a textile factory for more than 200 years.
The site in the High Street site was opened originally as a cottonspinning factory but was later used for lace manufacture.
It was built by the Corse and Burns Company, and it predates by four years the New Lanark cotton mill in Lanarkshire.
Paton’s took over the mill in 1896 when its first factory in Clark Street was destroyed by fire.
The present site extends to 10 acres, but bosses at 4th Consulting say not all of the land is capable of development and the industrial uses in the past have prevented areas of the site being directly accessible to the community.
Public consultations took place in June 2016, ahead of the summer school holiday period to enable early feedback from the community ahead of the planning application submission.
Demolition work at the site is expected to begin soon.
Johnstone councillors Chris Gilmour and Derek Bibby have welcomed the decision.
Mr Bibby said: “This is a great opportunity to bring additional jobs and services to Johnstone.”
Mr Gilmour added: “While the site has many memories for local folk, the time had come to move on with the site, particularly as there may be an opportunity for social housing to the rear of the development.”
Conditions on allowing the work to go ahead have been laid down by the council, however.
These include investigation into any possible soil, water of gas comntamination at the site; and ‘bird hazard plan’ that would look to minimising the site’s attractiveness to birds and their potential danger to aircraft.
A spokesman for Renfrewshire Council said: “The council has approved a proposal for the redevelopment of the former Paton’s Mill site subject to a number of conditions.
“It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the terms of these conditions are met and we will await their suggestions on how they wish to proceed.”
We hope this will be the catalyst for further regeneration in the Johnstone area