Renfrew regeneration set to start

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The finalised plans were drawn up after extensive consultation with Renfrew residents, businesses, councillors and community organisations.

Councillor Jackie Green, Convener of Renfrewshire Council's Planning and Development Policy Board, said the thousands of comments received had been "crucial" in shaping the final proposals.

"The feedback we got from the public consultation has been vital in finalising a scheme which will revitalise the town centre and I'd like to thank the Renfrew community for their commitment and involvement. These are exciting times for Renfrew and we are particularly keen to see that the existing town centre benefits from links to the new riverside developments. This wide-ranging £4million investment is a massive vote of confidence in Renfrew's future."

A spokesperson for Scottish Enterprise Renfrewshire said "We are keen to ensure that Renfrew town centre has a high quality environment to match the residential, commercial and leisure developments happening in the wider Renfrew Riverside area. The improvements are for everyone to enjoy - residents, visitors, retailers and businesses alike."

Among the key highlights of the Renfrew town centre regeneration programme are the:

• direction of through traffic around the town while still allowing access to shops and businesses in the town centre
• widening of pavements on Hairst Street and High Street, with high quality materials and landscaping
• retention of flowerbeds on the High Street
• repositioning of the War Memorial to create a new civic space
• carefully designed traffic calming measures to reduce speeds throughout the town centre, and
• the introduction of traffic signals at the junction of Hairst Street, Inchinnan Road, Paisley Road and Glebe Street.

Council bosses have pledged to keep residents informed throughout the course of the regeneration programme. Renfrew Town Hall will host a display from mid-August illustrating the key proposals. In addition, a series of information bulletins will be produced by the Council on a regular basis.

Project chiefs have pledged that "every effort will be made to minimise disruption and inconvenience" during the programme of work which will be carried out by contractor McKean and Co.

"The work has been deliberately scheduled to lessen the impact of the construction work as far as possible," said a council spokesperson. "For example, initial work will take place at locations towards the edge of the town centre, including Inchinnan Road, Canal Street, and around Renfrew Town Hall at Wilson Street, to minimise disruption.

"Site works will also shut down completely from November 2006 to January 2007 to allow retailers to continue to trade effectively during the Christmas period. Phase two of the works will begin in Hairst Street and High Street in January 2007."

During the early stages of the work, traffic will not be restricted. A one-way system will be introduced once phase two of the work is underway early in the new year. Further information on those necessary traffic restrictions will be announced by Renfrewshire Council before the work begins.

"Overall, we've put a lot of thought into how the town centre will look and how we can best go about the programme of putting all the different improvements in place," concluded Councillor Green. "I'm convinced the results will be of great benefit to the town and people of Renfrew."

Press Release: Thursday 10 August 2006