Taking the lead Art is at the heart of Paisley
COUNCIL LEADER IAIN NICOLSON
Arts and culture are at the heart of Renfrewshire which has inspired and produced some of the greatest singers, songwriters, artists and playwrights in the world.
The newly-transformed Paisley Town Hall will continue this legacy when it reopen later this year, bringing more wonderful arts, music and culture to Renfrewshire.
We have invested over £100 million transforming Paisley’s historic cultural venues and the town hall is the first of these magnificent buildings to reopen.
The investment will use Paisley’s unique cultural and heritage story to transform Renfrewshire’s future.
Construction on the town hall is due to be completed in the summer and it will open in time to host events during the Royal National Mod, Scotland’s largest celebration of Gaelic language and culture, in October.
The learning and cultural hub, which is being built in a formerly vacant retail unit in High Street, will also open in the second half of the year, with Paisley Arts Centre and Paisley Museum opening in 2024.
I am delighted to see the transformation of these buildings which mean so much to our communities.
Preserving what makes Renfrewshire so unique is very important to my SNP administration and I can’t wait for you to see them for yourselves when they reopen.
The transformation of Renfrewshire’s economy is also continuing, with new transport routes and links between the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS) and Paisley town centre receiving planning consent.
The new transport links include a gateway route along the White Cart river, a road bridge at the former Paisley Harbour, an east-west road from Renfrew Road to the bridge crossing, new dedicated walking and cycling routes, road safety improvements and reduced road congestion.
The infrastructure project received £38.7 million from the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund and is projected to attract an additional £136m into the local economy and cut carbon emissions by 21,700 tonnes.
This project is so important to Renfrewshire, bringing jobs, money and investment, supporting our economy and businesses, and helping reduce our carbon footprint and I am pleased to see it take its next step.
We want Renfrewshire to be net-zero by 2030 and as part of our effort to achieve this we will be trialling a new fuel in some of our commercial vehicles next month which could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 90 per cent.
Six vehicles, including three bin lorries, two tippers and a bus will test the hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) fuel, which is renewable and significantly more sustainable than the current fuels we use, during the trial.
As well as reducing carbon dioxide emission, the new fuel can also reduce emissions from nitrogen oxides (NOx) by up to 27 per cent and particulate matter emissions (PM) by up to 84 per cent.
I want Renfrewshire to be a leading example to others when it comes to climate change and this innovative new fuel could improve air quality while also helping us reach our net-zero goal.
Making Renfrewshire net-zero by 2030 is a big target but I know it’s something we can achieve.