Plans to transform the Paisley Centre have been scrapped and the building will be put up for sale, the Paisley Daily Express can reveal.
Owner Abandons Masterplan
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. The company secured principle planning permission for its masterplan in 2022 but the costs to implement it have soared in recent years.
Financial Viability Concerns
Its fortunes were dealt a hammer blow last week when Math Real Estate Ltd confirmed it would be too risky for Renfrewshire Council to take on a 50-year lease for the properties identified in the build. However, the local authority vowed to work with Beyond Retail to revise plans for the site at the heart of Paisley town centre. But in a statement issued on Friday afternoon, Beyond Retail told the Express it was pulling out.
“It is with considerable regret that Beyond Retail has confirmed that the Paisley Centre and associated car park are to be marketed for sale,” it said. “The decision follows seven years of hard work to bring forward proposals to transform the centre into a modern, mixed-use destination, including new homes, an international hotel brand, retail, leisure, health, and community uses that would have transformed Paisley town centre and beyond. While Beyond Retail has continued to invest time and resource into progressing the scheme, ongoing delays have challenged the viability of the project and have made it increasingly difficult to move forward within a reasonable timescale.”
Council Response
Math Real Estate Ltd had been commissioned by Renfrewshire Council and Scottish Futures Trust to carry out a detailed review of the “financial viability” of the current build proposals and the suggestion that the council lease the properties via an “income strip model” of funding. However the consultants found that model would leave the council open to “significant” financial risk.
A Renfrewshire Council spokesperson said: “We recognise the strategic importance of this prominent, privately-owned town centre site and have been engaging with its owners over many years to consider their development proposals and our role in supporting them. The independent examination of the owner’s proposals concluded they are not financially viable without a significant public sector subsidy and have high levels of risk for the council. We remain committed to supporting its redevelopment and board members agreed in May to proposing partnership working to develop a revised masterplan and viable options for the site, exploring all possible funding sources. Redevelopment would build on major investment we’re making in Paisley to bring long-term benefits for residents, businesses and visitors and we’ve a strong track record in working collaboratively with governments and public and private sector partners.”
