Plans have been unveiled to invest £45.7 million in Paisley town centre.

The programme involves a series of refurbishment and upgrade projects to Paisley town hall, Paisley Arts Centre, a new venue at the former Galbraith's site on Back Sneddon Street in the town; improvements to Paisley town centre as well as an upgrade to St James Playing field.

Details include;

• £22m for Paisley Town Hall - to increase performance attendances and attract high quality events to improve the visitor experience and improve the physical infrastructure of the building to secure its long term future.

• £2.5m for Paisley Arts Centre - to upgrade electrical works, improve toilet provision, provide changing accommodation for performers, new seating, improved staging, redecoration and improved access arrangements.

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• £10m improvements to Paisley town centre - include improved access into the town centre, pedestrian and cycling routes, public transport, local traffic improvements and investment in the physical appearance of the town centre.

• £3.5m to transform the former Galbraith's building on Back Sneddon Street to provide a venue for performance and visual art events.

• £7.7m redevelopment of facilities at St James playing field including an upgrade to grass pitches, a new pavilion and café, and an area to accommodate large scale events; and an upgrade to the existing Ferguslie Park Sports Centre.

The proposals form part of Paisley's bid for the UK City of Culture 2021 competition, which is also being considered by councillors next week, with a decision on the winner expected by the end of the year.

Council Leader Iain Nicolson said: "The whole of Renfrewshire has such a rich heritage and world class local talent and this investment will bring significant benefit to communities right across the region.

"Culture and heritage can play such a transformational role in supporting our local economy and improving the opportunities and wellbeing for our communities, investing in improvements to our existing venues and our town centre environment, we can make a real change in the fortunes of the area.

"Winning the title will boost the local economy by £175million, create more than 4,700 local jobs in the area, boost our tourism industry and improve the profile of the area, showing investors how much Renfrewshire has to offer."

(LM/MH)