Taking the lead Memories to hold on to
BY RENFREWSHIRE
COUNCIL LEADER IAIN NICOLSON
So many people have their own memories of special moments at Paisley Town Hall.
Maybe you enjoyed a great gig there, tied the knot, sank a festival beer or cheered as your St Mirren hero held aloft a trophy from the balcony.
Whatever your connection to the magnificent Victorian-era building, everyone will agree it’s such an important part of Paisley’s past and now work is underway to ensure it plays an significant role in the town’s, and Renfrewshire’s, future.
When its doors reopen in 2021, the town hall will have been transformed into one of the landmark entertainment venues in the west of scotland.
There will be entirely new rooms with a café bar, dance studio and a smaller venue offering new options for community events.
More big names will want to play here, enjoying the improved acoustics, greater audience capacity and the lowered stage. Behind the scenes there’s a full replacement of the electrics and mechanics together with backroom facilities, which will mean the town hall can host more weddings and conferences.
This transformation is predicted to double the number of people using the venue each year and is an important part of our investment in Paisley’s cultural venues like the arts centre and museum as we use our outstanding assets to bring new visitors to the area.
I’d like to congratulate staff, pupils and parents at Paisley Grammar School on their recent inspection report.
Inspectors from Education Scotland visited the school in November and their resultant report, published last week, evaluated the learning and teaching and raising attainment and achievement as good.
The report also praised the positive relationships between staff and pupils, the important progress being made in developing the school values and celebrating its diverse community.
Across all our educational establishments, our nurseries, our 49 primary schools, 11 secondary schools and two schools for pupils with additional support needs, staff are playing such a significant role in inspiring our children to achieve their full potential.
I’ve had the pleasure of visiting several schools in my role as council leader and serving on our education and children’s services board.
What I see is a highly motivated and talented workforce who share in a commitment to improve outcomes for every child, to raise attainment and to improve learning and teaching.
Raising attainment and closing the poverty-related attainment gap is a key focus of our work and I am very proud of the work taking place at each and every school.
And finally, it’s pleasing to see our new Local Partnerships up and running.
My SNP administration made a commitment from the outset to do all we can to give local communities a greater say in shaping their neighbourhoods.
Together with new funds for groups looking to improve their town or village and the opportunity to own and operate a local building, Local Partnerships are an important part of this commitment.
Offering a more informal and welcoming atmosphere than the previous Local Area Committees they’ve replaced, membership is split evenly between councillors and community representatives.
In spring, each partnership will be setting its local priorities and I’d encourage everyone to find out more.
To find out more information please visit www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/ communityempowerment