Cultural regeneration in Paisley

Although Paisley wasn’t successful in its bid to be UK City of Culture 2021, Renfrewshire Council and its bid partners were able to use the two-year campaign to galvanise support for the town’s culture-led regeneration strategy.

A new town vision and detailed action plan were put in place to build on this momentum, with an ambition of transforming Paisley into a vibrant cultural town centre by 2027. This includes measurable targets for achieving outcomes across a range of indicators, such as educational attainment, attendance at cultural events, digital connectivity, visitor numbers, and the condition of heritage buildings.

The broad range of measures will allow the local authority and its partners to assess how well the plan is performing across all of its different elements, helping to deliver a lasting legacy for the town.

As part of this, a Centre for Culture, Sport and Events has been set up in collaboration with the University of the West of Scotland. This will play a key role in measuring the town’s culture-led regeneration efforts, embedding expertise in the local area.

See the Inspiration section of this Toolkit for more information on Paisley's journey.