08/06/2026
In 2018 when the council announced their plan to support redevelopment of The Paisley Centre i attended their presentation in the former Post Office in the Piazza.
Perusing their plans which would have been the end of the cafe after 27 years i enquired of the planners;”Is it funded?” and was told no funding for this ridiculous plan was in place.
Subsequently Beyond bought the centre and with the council’s blessing switched off the heating, the music, the WiFi and then the toilets which doomed the cafe 3 years ago.
Letters from myself to councillors appealing for a sensible approach to this over-ambitious scheme, detailing the changes in construction costs and finance, the potential pitfalls of demolishing the site and quite simply the number of jobs being discarded as the centre’s units closed all fell on deaf ears.
That the council has had to instruct two different consultations to realise the folly of their scheme is indicative of the poor decision making that has blighted the town centre for many years.
The people within both Renfrewshire Council and Beyond who have mismanaged this to lose such a town centre amenity, several businesses and hundreds of jobs should hang their heads in shame at this all too avoidable outcome.
Beyond Retail, which purchased the property in 2020, said it was no longer pursuing plans to transform the shopping centre site to house flats, a hotel and medical centre with a smaller retail and hospitality offering.
