Paisley Town Centre Conservation Area Character Appraisal

Paisley Town Centre Conservation Area 

Character Appraisal 

Paisley Town Centre Conservation Area 1 Character Appraisal

Paisley Town Centre Conservation Area 2 Character Appraisal 

Mapping on cover © Crown Copyright and Landmark Information Group Ltd. All rights reserved 2008

SUMMARY 

Paisley Town Centre Conservation Area has a complex 

structure and mixed character as the result of eight 

and a half centuries of development. It has three main 

parts: 

1) The peaceful, green, riverside areas presided over by 

the Town Hall and Abbey; 

2) The busy shopping streets stretching in all directions 

from the Cross that are enclosed with terraces of 

individually designed tenements and irregular runs of 

Georgian buildings; 

3) Oakshaw Hill, a quiet area that sits above the town 

with a memorable, romantic skyline of towers, domes 

and spires rising above slated roofs and trees. 

The original ecclesiastical village’s few irregular streets 

were added to piecemeal in the 18 th century as it grew 

rapidly from a small market town to Scotland’s premier 

centre of handloom weaving. 

Though mostly widened in the late 19 th century, the 

streets retain the informal layout of the earlier town. 

Within it are concentrated many public buildings of a 

scale and quality found usually only in cities, providing 

an outstanding townscape. 

While buildings survive from most periods of the 

town’s long history, architecturally it is the handsome 

late Victorian public buildings and four storey 

tenements which do most to establish the town 

centre’s character. Contrasting with them there are 

many more modest Georgian buildings. 

Segments of the historic town were lost with 

redevelopment in the 1960s-70s but overall the town 

centre has been well conserved, adapted to change and 

enhanced, especially Oakshaw with many new homes 

provided in converted and new buildings. 

Thirty years since the designation of the original Cross 

and Oakshaw Conservation Area, existing boundaries 

have been reviewed. It is proposed to extend the 

southern boundary to include Causeyside Street with 

its fine tenements up to Canal Street Station and the 

listed church and former fire station in Gordon Street. 

Problems and threats across the Conservation Area 

include the accelerating loss of retail custom to 

competing shopping centres. This affects the condition 

of all the shopping streets resulting in a growing 

number of vacant and poorly maintained retail units. 

This is compounded by a reduction in the use of 

property on upper floors. 

Extending the conservation area will give more 

powers to control detrimental changes and make 

funds available to ensure that repair of buildings, 

redevelopment of gap sites and upgrading of street 

surfaces are delivered to a standard that will enhance 

the overall quality of the town centre. 

Renfrewshire Council Department of Planning and Transport, 2008. 


Contents 

1. Introduction 1 

2. Historical Development 1 

2.1 Summary 1 

2.2 From Abbey with dependent village to small market town, 1163 – 1560. 1 

2.3 Rapid expansion to major textile town, post 1707 - 1820s. 1 

2.4 Late Victorian rebuilding, 1860s – 1914. 8 

2.5 Inter and post war redevelopment, 1918 -1970s. 9 

2.6 Conservation and adaptation, 1970s - present. 10 

3. Character areas 11 

3.1 Town Hall and Abbey 11 

3.2 Oakshaw 13 

3.3 The Cross and the High Street 13 

3.4 Moss Street - County Place 15 

3.5 Causeyside Street - Gordon Street 15 

3.6 New Street - George Street 16 

4. The Boundaries of the Conservation Area 17 

5. Issues 18 

5.1 Building Repair and Reuse 18 

5.2 Gap Sites 19 

5.3 Public Areas 19 

5.4 Summary of Issues 20 

6. Conclusion 20 

7. Appendices 21 

App 1 Definition of a conservation area 21 

App 2 Local Plan Policies for the Built Heritage 21 

App 3 Principal buildings of the six character areas 23 

App 4 Listed buildings in the proposed extension area 25 

Paisley Paisley Town Town Centre Centre Conservation Conservation Area Area 

3 Character Character Appraisal Appraisal

PLAN 1 - Paisley Town Centre 

Conservation Area 

The Cross and Oakshaw (1975) 

The Cross/Oakshaw (1980) 

Proposed Extension 

Listed Buildings 

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Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office © Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown 

copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. Renfrewshire Council 100023417 2008 

Renfrewshire Council 

Printed by: K Ferguson 

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Print date: 2/9/08 0 30 60 120 180 

Department: Planning and Transport 

Meters 


1. Introduction 

This document gives an appraisal of the character of 

the existing Cross/Oakshaw Outstanding Conservation 

Area, Paisley and an area to its south proposed as an 

extension (see Plan 1). 

The purpose of a Conservation Area Appraisal is to 

define what are its important features, and its salient 

and significant characteristics (see Appendix 1). 

This is the starting point for deciding what should 

be protected and enhanced by planning authorities, 

residents and property owners, and what problems 

need to be addressed. 

It covers the area’s historic development, its special 

historic, townscape and architectural interest, and 

includes consideration of significant buildings and open 

spaces which establish the character of the area. 

This then informs consideration of what should be the 

conservation area’s boundaries. It provides a context 

for the assessment of development proposals within 

the area, identifies opportunities and priorities for 

enhancement, and sets out the policy framework for 

the determination of development proposals. This 

appraisal is supplementary to the policies for the built 

heritage set out in the Renfrewshire Local Plan (see 

Appendix 2). 

2. Historical Development 

2.1 Summary 

As a result of its topography and a long and disjointed 

history, Paisley town centre has great complexity and 

variety concentrated in a relatively small area. Even 

individual streets rarely have one consistent character. 

This brief history of the town is provided to assist the 

understanding of why and how the town came to have 

its present form and character, and to help to make an 

assessment of the elements which make it today. 

Paisley’s history can be outlined as having four distinct 

periods of development separated by three periods 

of stagnation. The discontinuities in this history have 

created a town centre which is irregular in layout, has 

areas of varying character, and buildings which often 

contrast with their neighbours in scale and character. 

2.2 From Abbey and dependent village to small 

market town 

Paisley is sited on the White Cart River at its highest 

navigable point from the Clyde and the lowest point 

where it could be forded, on the important route 

between the South West and central belt of Scotland. 

St Mirin is said to have built a chapel on the east bank 

in the 6 th century, and monks granted lands here in 

1163 built the abbey on its reputed site. Their monastic 

precinct occupied most of the level east bank, so the 

dependent village grew up on the more undulating 

west bank, along the irregular tracks leading down 

to the ford opposite the abbey. This established the 

distinct character of the east and west sides of the 

town. 

The village was made a burgh in 1488, gaining the right 

to hold a market, which was held at the Cross. The 

construction of the first bridge over the Cart (St James) 

about 1490 helped make it the principal market centre 

of Renfrewshire. But the closure of the monastery in 

the Reformation (1560) ended this stage of Paisley’s 

development (see Plan 2 and Plate 1). 

Plan 2: Timothy Pont’s plan of Paisley, 1580s-90s, showing 

the High St to left and the Abbey precinct walls to the right. 

2.3 Rapid expansion to major textile town 

The opening up of trade with the Empire following 

the Act of Union in 1707 saw a rapid expansion 

of manufacturing, especially of textiles. Paisley’s 

population grew faster than anywhere else in Scotland, 

until by 1820 it was the third largest settlement in 

the nation. Development extended out along the old 

routes into the village - the High Street, Moss Street 


Plan 3: William Roy’s military map, 1754, showing New 

St and Orchard St added. 

Plate 1: View from Saucel Hill by John Slezer, 1693. 

Old Tollbooth Bridge 

Abbey River 

and Causeyside Street. Starting with New Street in 

1724, new streets were laid out incrementally without 

any overall plan, adding to the irregularity of the street 

pattern (see Plans 3 and 4). 

The old thatched cottages at the heads of the long 

medieval burgage plots were redeveloped one by one 

with two to four storey buildings and the back courts 

built up. Most of these new Georgian buildings were 

modest, built with local buff sandstone and roofed 

with slates. The only surviving landmark public building 

of this period is the High Church (Oakshaw Trinity) on the 

east end of the long Oakshaw hill above the town centre. 

The only new public open space created was County 

Square, laid out in front of the County Buildings (1820, 

demolished c 1971). The construction of the Glasgow 

to Johnstone canal in 1810 and the railway in 1840 

defined the centre from its southern and northern 

satellites (see Plate 2). 

Plan 4: William Semple’s map, 1787, showing many 

additional streets laid out since Roy’s map and 

development extending along them. 


High Church Tollbooth Jail & 

Bridge 

Plate 2: View from Saucel Hill by Clark, 1825, with canal to right and High Church to left. 

Abbey 

Canal 


2.4 Late Victorian rebuilding 

After 40 years of severe depression, growth resumed 

in the1860s. The economy came to be dominated by 

larger scale manufacturing, notably in the thread works 

of the Coats and Clark families to the west and east of 

the centre. To cope with increasing road traffic in what 

was now the hub of a large town, and to provide better 

commercial and residential accommodation, most 

of the streets of the town centre were widened from 

1862. 

This was done mostly by rebuilding properties on only 

one side of the thoroughfare, creating unbalanced 

streets, and making the irregularity and mixed quality 

of the retained Georgian facades more apparent. (see 

plate 11). The traffic bottleneck of the medieval St 

Mirren Street was overcome in 1875 with the new 

street we know today, creating the site for Dunn 

Square, laid out in 1894 (see Plan 5). 

Causeyside Street was widened along its entire length, 

creating a handsome approach to the town centre 

from the Canal Street station (1885). Almost all of the 

four storey tenements were developed by separate 

owners to individual designs of local architects, giving 

an interesting variety to the street scene. The most 

prominent features of these tenements are their 

corners, which were often given special treatment such 

as round or facetted towers. 

The character of the town was most dramatically 

changed by the erection of several large public 

buildings in contrasting architectural styles, notably 

the John Neilson Institution (1852), (see plate 21) the 

classical Museum (1868-) (see plate 19), the Italianate 

Plan 5: 2 nd edition OS, 1893 


Clark Town Hall (1882) and the Gothic Coats Memorial 

Church (1884). 

Churches proliferated, with Oakshaw Hill a favoured 

location, and the north transept, choir and massive 

tower were added to the Abbey nave in four stages 

(between 1862 and 1928). 

While County Square had been formed to give an 

appropriately grand setting for County Buildings, most 

of these later great buildings were slotted into the 

existing fabric with little change to their surroundings. 

Though widened, the old streets retained the informal 

character of the 18 th century town. However, the great 

public buildings and their concentration within a small 

area gave the centre the character of a city more than 

any other Scottish town. 

The Abbey precinct had been developed in the 18 th 

century as ‘Paisley New Town’, but having become run 

down the area around the Abbey and Town Hall was 

cleared (1873-1920s) to give them an open setting. 

This partly restored the contrasting characters of the 

town on the two banks of the river. 

2.5 Interwar and post war developments 

After the interruption of the First World War, some 

of the pre-war changes were continued, notably the 

completion of the Abbey, the clearance of the buildings 

around it, and the widening of streets from the Cross 

down to the Town Hall and Forbes Place. 

Tenement construction was not resumed and no 

further city scale buildings were commissioned. 

Plate 3: View from Saucel Hill c 1890, with the Town Hall in the centre and abbey nave to its right. 

However, the architectural sophistication of several 

replaced large areas of the inherited urban fabric. 

new buildings erected shows a continuing pride and 

Paisley University (1963) opened a wide gap in the 

originality, most notably the Cenotaph (1922) and the 

west end High Street frontage, and added a bulky six 

Russell Institute (1926) (see plate 22). 

storey tower into views of the Oakshaw skyline from 

the south. 

As old industries closed down, the high chimneys were 

removed from the skyline. Town centre slum residents 

The ambitious Civic Centre (1966-71) in Cotton Street 

were rehoused on suburban council housing estates. 

replaced yet more of the New Town. Softened by 

Manufacturing decline set in seriously in the 1950s, and landscaping, it served as a neutral though over scaled 

service industries became dominant. 

backdrop to the Abbey. The Piazza (1968-70) shopping 

mall with three long office slab blocks and a multistorey 

car park rising to five storeys was built over the 

The town centre was adapted to this with three 

major comprehensive redevelopment schemes which 

river from St James Bridge to the railway viaduct. 


2.6 Conservation and adaptation, 1970s - present 

The damage which the comprehensive redevelopment 

approach was doing to the historic towns and cities 

of Britain was recognised in the 1960s, as was the 

contribution which conserving historic buildings and 

areas can make to economic regeneration. Starting in 

1971, buildings of architectural interest were protected 

from demolition and unsympathetic alteration. 

The Cross and Oakshaw were designated as 

conservation areas in 1975 and amalgamated and 

extended in 1980, an area which today has 101 listed 

buildings of which 14 are Category A. The three major 

1960s redevelopment schemes were excluded from the 

conservation area. 

Oakshaw, where the John Neilson Institution stood 

derelict from 1971 was picked out for major public 

investment in 1985, a process which resulted in a 

tripling of the number of dwellings on the hill, most of 

them in redundant listed buildings. 

A new approach to redevelopment was set by the 

Paisley Urban Design Framework adopted by the 

Council in 1990. The Paisley (shopping) Centre 

development (1992) followed these by being carefully 

fitted into the High Street-Causeyside Street-New 

Street block behind retained historic facades and new 

‘contextual’ ones. While giving additional modern 

shopping accommodation, the two indoor shopping 

centres made the old main street shops less viable, and 

increased the problem faced today of retail business 

loss. 

JNI Coats Church Observatory Orr Sq. Church High Church Wynd Centre 

Town Hall 

Abbey 

Plate 4 Panorama from Saucel Hill, 2008 


3. Character areas (see Plan 6) 

The Conservation Area has three main contrasting 

areas: the Town Hall-Abbey-riverside area, Oakshaw 

hill, and the urban shopping streets. This last area can 

be divided into four parts, making six areas in which 

certain characteristics or features predominate. Each 

has several important and memorable buildings (see 

Appendix 3). 

3.1 The Town Hall - Abbey Area 

This area’s predominant features are its two 

contrasting monumental buildings and the green 

spaces and the river across which they are viewed. 

While theTown Hall relates to the busy Cross and 

High Street, this area is otherwise a quiet backwater, 

protected from the impact of ring road traffic to the 

east by the high walls of the Cotton Street buildings. 

building is too distant to define this space well. The 

Town Hall’s imposing entrance front commands the 

view down Gauze Street from as far off as the end of 

Glasgow Road. 

The contrasting west front of the Town Hall rises sheer 

from the river’s edge; its twin towers providing dramatic 

vertical features which dominate views downstream 

from the Abbey Bridge and Forbes Place (see Plate 5). 

The Town Hall screens the Abbey from the bustle of 

the Cross, and it is only from the end of Causeyside 

Street that its west front can be seen as it was designed 

to impress approaching medieval pilgrims fording the 

river. 

The Abbey with the Place of Paisley are a pervading 

presence from Forbes Place, Riverside Walk and Abbey 

Bridge, where not excessively screened by trees. The 

definition of the wider space to the south west of the 

Abbey, and the special character of the riverside walk 

are weakened somewhat by the gap site in Forbes Place 

and the single storey former industrial building on 

Bridge Street. 

The Abbey and the Town Hall relate obliquely to each 

with their sides defining the spaces facing each other’s 

fronts. The green area which the town hall overlooks 

historically belongs to the Abbey, being the town’s 

oldest graveyard. However, its character has been lost 

by laying flat the gravestones and allowing them to 

become covered by turf, and by removal of surrounding 

walls and railings. The presence of the graves, lack of 

paths and the shade cast by the Abbey inhibits its use 

for relaxation, closer viewing of the Abbey, and taking 

short cuts along its north side. 

To the south the space in front of the Town Hall is well 

defined by the Central Methodist Halls and the former 

Arnotts, but less so further east. The Cotton Street 

Plate 5: Town Hall and Abbey from Forbes Place 


2 4 

3 1 

6 

5 

Plan 6 - Character Areas & Gap Sites 

Proposed Paisley Town Centre 

Conservation Area 

Gap Sites 

Character Areas 

This map is reproduced from Ordnance Survey material with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the 

Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office © Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown 

copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. Renfrewshire Council 100023417 2008 

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Print date: 5/9/08 

0 25 50 100 150 

Department: Planning and Transport 

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The open space between the river and the Abbey and 

Place of Paisley is somewhat disparate in character. 

The strong curving form and great width of Abbey 

Close around the Place of Paisley serves to cut it off 

and leaves it with a garden area rather small for the 

historic importance of the building. 

3.2 Oakshaw 

Oakshaw provides the dominant skyline for Paisley 

town centre as seen from outside the area, especially 

from the north and east (see Plate 17). From here it 

appears as a wooded hill topped with a line of the 

varied silhouettes of towers, spires and domes. 

Abbey Close gardens lack a coherent landscaping 

scheme. The presence of the river is not immediately 

apparent due to the high embankment wall and levelling 

up of the river banks behind it, except in the graveyard 

beside the Town Hall. Under this area lies one of 

Scotland’s best preserved monastic drains, over which 

were sited major buildings of the monastery (see Plan 7). 

Of the 18 th century New Town built on the Abbey 

grounds only Gauze, Lawn, Silk, and Smithhills Streets 

remain, with nine original buildings. 

Plan 7: Approximate lines of medieval drain and abbey precinct wall 

Set apart from the rest of the town by the steepness 

and narrowness of the seven lanes up to it, Oakshaw 

Street retains its ancient narrow width and winding 

alignment along the ridge of the hill, limiting views up 

and down the street. It is enclosed by informal lines of 

buildings and high garden walls overhung by trees on 

the north side, giving the street an intimate pedestrian 

character. 

The north side has well spaced 19 th century detached 

villas, two small blocks of flats of a similar width and 

three former churches. The south side has mainly 

terraced two storey villas and three to four storey 

tenements, trees in whose large back garden add to 

views of the hill from the south. 

Only in a few places do surprisingly distant views open 

over the town below. Although in the past Oakshaw 

has been the site of three schools and nine churches, 

the conversion of seven of these to housing and the 

closing of the road to through traffic have reinforced 

the sleepy residential character of the area. 

Oakshaw has an exceptional concentration of ‘A’ listed 

buildings, each of a very different character. Other 

buildings range between one to four storeys, and the 

architecture is varied. Sandstone predominates and 

Plate 6: Oakshaw Street. 

almost all roofs are slated, giving coherence to views 

up to the hill and across from the Observatory balcony. 

The new infill development between Church Hill and 

Orr Lane fits comfortably into this pattern. 

3.3 The Cross and High Street 

Though radically altered seven times over the 

centuries, Paisley Cross retains its character of the 

centre or hub of the town. It is a busy junction of five 

routes, lying between the indoor shopping centres, the 

main railway station, bus stops and the university. 

The space’s openness to the South East over Dunn 


Square affords views out to the Town Hall and even the 

Anchor Finishing Mill, but it is still defined by the way 

the land slopes away outside the space. 

The surrounding buildings are mixed, but the very long 

and crude elevation of the former Littlewoods store 

is especially poor, depressing the view of the Cross 

looking up Moss Street. 

A west wing balancing the library extension of 1904 

(as originally intended) would strengthen this key 

public building’s presence in relation to the tenements 

opposite, close the long view up the High Street, and 

form a visual gateway to the last section of the High 

Street. 

Beyond Townhead the High Street changes character 

to be an open setting for large detached buildings, - the 

former TA, Coats Memorial Church and the university 

tower, all set back with landscaped frontages. The 

widening out of the roadway in front of the university 

draws attention to the blank severed gable of the last 

Townhead tenement. Beyond, Wellmeadow Street 

leads into the West End. 

High Street runs along the side of Oakshaw Hill, rising 

gently as far as Townhead Terrace where it curves out 

of sight. It retains something of the enclosure of a 

medieval high street, with four of the five streets linked 

off it allowing only narrow views out to left and right. 

Though quite modest in length, the High Street is given 

a grander scale by the view in the distance of the crown 

spire of the Coats Memorial Church at one end and the 

presence of the Clark Town Hall in the other (see 

Plate 7). 

The east part of the street maintains a roughly even 

width, and, with three and four storey buildings, it has 

good proportions and urban character. It retains its 

character as the town’s prime shopping street. 

From New Street / Church Hill to Storie Street the High 

Street suffers from the reduction of some four-storey 

tenements which have been reduced to two storeys, 

three gap sites, vacant upper floors, small shops, and 

some unsympathetic modern redevelopments. 

The fine late 19th century four storey tenements 

between Storie Street and the university have a 

remarkable coherence and urbanity, and nearly 

overshadow the elegant museum opposite. 

Plate 7: High Street looking west. 


3.4 Moss Street - County Square 

Moss Street from the Cross to County Place retains 

the pedestrian scale of Georgian Paisley. This part 

may be the only late medieval street which was not 

widened. The facades are very mixed, with Georgian 

predominating. The former Empire Music Hall at No 

8-10 with restoration could be appreciated as the last 

lay public building to survive from the Georgian period. 

The rest of Moss Street is another unbalanced wide 

Victorian thoroughfare, with individually designed four 

storey tenements on one side. The gap site at Nos. 

21- 23 awaits redevelopment with buildings of similar 

height to the neighbours. The street’s character falls 

away at its north end with the gap site car park against 

the railway viaduct, once occupied by a four storey 

block. 

County Square is well defined by contrasting buildings 

on three sides - County Place, the former Post Office, 

and the railway station and viaduct (see Plate 8). 

However, the Piazza is set too far back to contain the 

space, allowing it to bleed away into Central Way 

and Gilmour Street, where the Gilmour House fails to 

relate to interesting mainly Georgian elevations on its 

west side. The square has been divided between traffic 

in the north east corner and pedestrians. Being level 

and sheltered, it is the most useful space in the town 

centre for temporary outdoor events such as markets. 

3.5 Causeyside Street - Gordon Street 

Causeyside Street with St Mirren Street is equal to the 

High Street in importance to the structure of the town 

centre. It has continuity of character over a greater 

length, a greater width, and a longer run of shop fronts, 

interrupted only by the ring road at Gordon Street. 

Plate 8: County Square from Gilmour House. 

Plate 9: Causeyside Street from Dunn Square. 


Looking down St Mirren Street the city scale of the 

former Co-op building at 25-29 Causeyside Street 

impresses, while the entrance to the Paisley Centre 

and bus stops makes this a busy area (see Plate 9). 

Approaching from the south, Dunn Square can be seen 

from as far away as Gordon Street, but what attracts 

attention is the Russell Institute’s richly embellished 

corner entrance facade. This is one of no less than 10 

eye-catching corners up the street’s entire length, eight 

of them belonging to tenements. 

The whole of the street has been widened, with the 

east side from Forbes Place to Gordon Street and 

both sides from there to the station redeveloped in 

the late 19C with individually designed four storey 

tenements. All but one of the nine side streets have 

themselves been widened giving views out to left and 

right, notably of the former Fire Station down Johnston 

Street and Gordon Street. 

The strong character of the street established by the 

four storey tenements is weakened only by the more 

motley two and three storey buildings on the west 

side from Laigh Kirk Lane to Canal Street. Two have 

unsympathetic flat roofs, and oversized shop fascias 

which compete for attention and detract from the 

simple Georgian character of some of the elevations 

above. The only gap site is at the junction with Canal 

Street, once defined by another fine corner tenement. 

The runs of tenements up the east side of Causeyside 

Street return down Orchard, Johnston and Gordon 

Streets, but the area’s quality and coherence was 

damaged by demolition of tenements to form the 

east bound traffic lanes of the ring road. The ends of 

Orchard Street could be repaired by development of 

gap sites. 

The landmark former Fire Station and extraordinary St 

Matthews Church, though now on a ring road traffic 

island, make this area part of the town centre and 

not peripheral to it. Bridge Street, however, makes a 

poor link and approach to the Abbey area, and the site 

between it and the Hammils Bridge approach road 

makes no positive contribution to this area or to the 

Abbey. 

Its development with a river frontage like that of 

Forbes Place could further define and protect the 

Abbey’s precinct from the impact of ring road traffic 

without blocking any important views of the Abbey, 

the Oakshaw skyline or Finishing Mill. 

3.6 New Street - George Street 

Although New Street was also widened and partly 

lined with tenements, this area retains more than most 

the character of Georgian Paisley. Buildings range from 

one to four storeys. Excepting George Street and the 

end of Witherspoon Street, the streets and alleys of 

this area are pedestrian in scale. 

The quiet presence of the small former Laigh Kirk and 

its small graveyard, a green oasis, is able to withstand 

the effect of the high Paisley Centre on one side and 

the wide open road junction of Witherspoon Street 

with New Street on the other. This would be reduced 

by development of the gap sites at the end of Shuttle 

Street. 

Plate 10: New Street. 


4. The Boundaries of the Conservation 

Area 

The Cross / Oakshaw Conservation Area has some 

obvious boundary features to define its edges. These 

include the Cotton Street buildings to the East, the 

Piazza, railway viaduct and foot of Oakshaw hill to the 

North and West, and the University to the South West. 

in history, character and current uses. Insofar as they 

merit conservation area designation, this should be 

considered separately. 

However, the boundary bisects the historically 

important New Street, excluding four listed buildings 

on its west side. It excludes most of Causeyside Street, 

whose continuous line of shop fronts leads up to the 

Cross, and whose quality has an effect on the town 

centre’s character (see Plate 11). 

To the south east the ring road makes a clear edge 

with the former fire station building and the St 

Matthews Church clearly belonging to the town 

centre. Although interrupted by the ring road, the late 

Victorian character of Causeyside Street is if anything 

stronger beyond it where both sides of the street were 

redeveloped with tenements as far as the Canal Street 

railway line. It is therefore proposed that the extension 

includes this. The proposed extension has in it 19 listed 

buildings (see Appendix 4). 

Extending the conservation area up to these edges 

would help to consolidate it by encouraging restoration 

of listed buildings and other older properties, and 

appropriate high quality development of six gap sites 

resulting from road widening schemes. The enlarged 

conservation area would extend over 41 hectares. 

Beyond these boundaries lie areas which are distinct 

Plate 11: Causeyside Street 


5. Issues 

The accelerating integration into the Glasgow 

conurbation with increasing mobility in road and rail 

has brought with it both a loss of retail custom to other 

shopping centres and an increased demand for housing. 

This is leaving many empty shops and some vacant 

upper floors, but there is also insufficient investment 

being made in tenement refurbishment. 

5.1 Building Repair and Reuse 

Since the start of listing and designation of the 

Oakshaw and Cross Conservation Areas, preservation 

and conservation of buildings in the conservation 

area has been quite successful. Only two minor listed 

buildings and a few other older buildings have been 

demolished. 

Of the seven major skyline landmark buildings, two 

which were at risk have been rescued and converted 

to flats with major public subsidies - the John Neilson 

Institution in 1992, and Orr Square Church in 19 97. 

Major investments have been made in the High Church, 

the Abbey, St Matthews Church, Coats Memorial 

Church, and the Town Hall, although restoration of 

the Observatory, Museum, Art Galleries and Central 

Library is overdue. 

Fourteen other buildings in the Conservation Area 

have been rescued from a derelict state, most of them 

for residential use or re-use. Eight redundant church 

buildings have been found new uses, but those with the 

finest interiors are among the six remaining places of 

worship 

Three vacant B listed buildings in the Conservation 

Area are currently at risk – the former Arnotts 

department store in Gauze Street, (vacated in 2005), 

the former TA Building in the High Street (vacated in 

1996), and the former Fire Station in Gordon Street. 

The corner of 33 Causeyside Street is in urgent need of 

repair. (See Plate 12) 

Many other less important listed and unlisted 

properties are in need of repair and investment, 

notably the older and smaller Georgian ones. In the 

shopping streets, there are an increasing number of 

vacant or underused upper floors. Most of the Victorian 

tenements are structurally sound, but are in need of 

modernisation and restoration of original details. Many 

unauthorised changes of windows have undermined 

their quality. 

Declining retail activity is resulting in more empty units 

with neglected shop fronts, and more down market 

shops which put up inappropriate fascia signs and 

install solid roller shutters without permission. These 

premises often close down before enforcement action 

can be taken by the Planning Authority (see Plates 13 

and 14). 

Plate 12: 33 Causeyside St as designed and today. 


Plate 16: Gap site at Causeyside Street -Canal Street corner. 

Plate 13: 42-46 Causeyside Street. 

Plate 15: Gap site at 55 High Street. 

Some of the simpler unlisted Georgian buildings are 

of original poor construction and have been badly 

maintained making their restoration difficult to 

achieve. These can be found in Moss Street and the 

Plate 14: 61 High Street. 

High Street. Their redevelopment would mean a 

reduction in the Georgian aspect to the area’s 

character. 

5.2 Gap Sites 

There are a large number of gap sites within the 

conservation area (see Plan 6). Those in oldest streets 

- the High Street and Moss Street - have the worst 

impact, but are small and awkward sites to redevelop 

(see Plate 15). 

The gap sites left over from forming the ring road and 

Witherspoon Street are not seen as signs of decline 

in the same way, but their redevelopment with good 

contextual modern buildings could help to boost 

confidence and strengthen the coherence of the urban 

fabric (see Plate 16). 

5.3 Public areas 

Most of the public areas within the conservation area 

have been upgraded to a good standard and are being 

well maintained. There are still some peripheral streets 

where the pavements and street lighting need to be 

improved, notably where the Conservation Area would 

be extended. The Council is taking over responsibility 

for the upkeep of some previously unadopted 

pavements here. 

The traditional street surfaces of all but one of 

the seven routes up to Oakshaw Street have been 

reinstated since 1985. The pedestrianised High Street, 

the Cross, Gilmour Street, and County Square were 

repaved with Caithness slate slabs and granite setts. 

Forbes Place, Smithhills Street, Moss Street, County 

Square and Shuttle Street have all been repaved. 

Around the Abbey, Abbey Close has been repaved, 

the river bank railings and dying trees replaced. 

Minor green spaces at the Museum, and Arts Centre 

(graveyard of former Laigh Kirk), have been relandscaped. 

The graveyard of Oakshaw East UP Church 

has been tidied up, and the treatment of that of the 

Gaelic Chapel is under consideration. Abbey Close 

green spaces offer scope for future archaeological 


excavation of monastic remains. 

All of these improvements have been accompanied 

by re-lighting. Floodlighting of the principle landmark 

buildings in the Conservation Area was installed 

between 1988 and 1997, and is currently being renewed. 

5.4 Summary of issues 

Reduction in commercial activity, and an increasing 

number of empty shops and premises above them. 

Lack of investment in repair and modernisation of 

tenements, and inappropriate changes especially in 

replacement windows. 

Installation of inappropriate shop fronts and signage. 

Major investment need of the Museum-Observatory 

buildings. 

Finding new uses for vacant listed buildings. 

Maintaining in public use churches whose interiors 

are too fine for conversion to be allowed. 

Redevelopment of gap sites and of buildings which 

do not contribute to the character of the Conservation 

Area with new ones which are appropriate in design 

and enhance it. 

Making the road layout more legible to motorists 

without reducing pedestrian amenity. 

Reducing the impact of traffic on Gordon Street and 

repairing the damage done to the urban fabric by road 

widening. 

Improving the public realm in the conservation area 

extension. 

Enhancing the character and use of public green 

spaces including grave yards. 

The Conservation Area Management Plan will cover 

how these issues should be addressed. 

6. Conclusion 

Paisley town centre’s diverse and complex character 

is the result of centuries of radical change - in its 

economy, society and culture, and its relationship 

with the county, the West of Scotland and the world. 

This has left a rich and unique built heritage which 

should be preserved as a valuable asset with which to 

face ongoing challenges. This appraisal should inform 

the management of continuing changes in a way that 

safeguards and enhances the special character of the 

town centre. 

Plate 17 The Cross and Oakshaw from the Town Hall 


7. Appendices 

Appendix 1: Definition of a Conservation Area and 

Implications of Designation. 

Conservation areas were first introduced by the Civic 

Amenities Act 1967. The Planning (Listed Buildings and 

Conservation Area) (Scotland) Act 1997 provides the 

current legislative framework for the designation of 

conservation areas. 

A conservation area is defined as “an area of special 

architectural or historic interest, the character or 

appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or 

enhance”. All planning authorities are required 

to determine which parts of their area merits 

conservation area status. Renfrewshire currently has 

eight conservation areas. 

In a conservation area it is the buildings and the 

spaces between them that are of architectural or 

historic interest. Planning control is therefore directed 

at maintaining the integrity of the entire area and 

enhancing its special character. Conservation area 

status does not mean that new development is 

unacceptable, but care must be taken to ensure that 

the new development will not harm the character or 

appearance of the area. 

Conservation area designation automatically brings the 

following works under planning control: 

Demolition of buildings 

Removal of, or work to, trees 

Development involving small house extensions, roof 

alterations, stone cleaning or painting of the exterior, 

provision of hard surfaces, and 

Additional control over satellite dishes 

Where a development would, in the opinion of the 

planning authority, affect the character or appearance 

of a conservation area, the application for planning 

permission will be advertised in the local press 

providing an opportunity for public comment. Views 

expressed are taken into account by the local planning 

authority when making a decision on the application. 

In order to protect the conservation areas, their 

designation requires the Council to formulate 

and publish proposals for their preservation and 

enhancement. Local residents and property owners 

also have a major role to play in protecting and 

enhancing the character and appearance of the 

conservation area by ensuring that properties are 

regularly maintained and original features retained. 

Appendix 2: Local Plan policies for the Built 

Heritage in Renfrewshire Local Plan, (adopted in 

February 2006). 

POLICY ENV 13: Conservation Areas 

The Council will protect, preserve and enhance the 

unique townscape qualities of the Conservation Areas. 

The Council seeks the retention, sensitive restoration 

and appropriate reuse of all structures/buildings that 

make a material contribution to the historic character 

of the Area. Any proposals for new development will 

have to meet the requirements of policy ENV 14. 

POLICY ENV 14: Development Standards for 

Conservation Areas 

The Council seeks to maintain and enhance the unique 

townscape of Conservation Areas. Development within 

these areas will only be acceptable where it can be 

demonstrated that it satisfies the requirements of 

the Conservation Area Character Appraisals and the 

following criteria: 

(a) High standards of design must be employed which 

have regard to the architecture and character of the 

area, and ensure the maintenance and enhancement 

of local distinctiveness. Detailed consideration should 

be given to massing, height, fenestration and building 

materials. 

(b) The development proposals should be based on, 

and take account of the following supplementary 

guidance which is currently produced by the Council. 

- Cleaning and Repair of Stonework of Listed Buildings 

and Buildings in Conservation Areas, 


- The advisory booklets on development within 

Kilbarchan, Castlehead, The Cross/Oakshaw, Greenlaw, 

Ranfurly, Houston and Lochwinnoch Conservation 

Areas, 

- Paisley Cross and Oakshaw Outstanding Conservation 

Area Design Guide. 

(c) Supplementary guidance available in the 

Enhancement Schemes produced by the Council for 

Kilbarchan, Houston, Lochwinnoch and Paisley Cross 

and Oakshaw Conservation Areas. 

(d) Proposals should have regard to their wider impact 

in terms of visibility from external locations and the 

preservation of landmarks and views from and through 

the development site. 

(e) The redevelopment of gap sites will be encouraged 

and such development should enhance the character 

and distinctiveness of the conservation area, and 

(f) Trees deemed by the Council to contribute to the 

overall townscape should be retained and provision 

made for their future management. Any works 

undertaken should be in accordance Policy ENV 8. 

Outline planning applications will not normally be 

accepted for sites in Conservation Areas. 

POLICY ENV 15: Development Criteria for Listed 

Buildings 

The Council seeks to protect and enhance listed 

buildings within Renfrewshire. Any applications 

received for development proposals relating to listed 

buildings and their settings will require to be of a high 

standard and require to meet the following criteria: 

(a) Use of sympathetic and appropriate materials and 

finishes. 

(b) Extensions/alterations should not detract from the 

character of the building. 

(c) The massing, scale and form of the development 

should be appropriate. 

(d) Landscaping and boundary enclosures should 

enhance the setting of the listed building and 

important structural planting should be reinforced or 

re-established. 

(e) Conformity with the Memorandum of Guidance on 

Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas. 

POLICY ENV 16: Listed Buildings Under Threat 

The Council will require owners of listed buildings 

to undertake appropriate maintenance and repair of 

their property and where appropriate it will use the 

statutory powers available to it to secure the future of 

such buildings. Subject to the availability of funding, 

grants towards these works may be made by the 

Council. 

POLICY ENV 17: Development of Listed Buildings 

The Council will support and encourage the re-use and 

restoration of redundant listed buildings. Development 

proposals considered to be detrimental to the 

historical or architectural interest of a listed building or 

its setting will not be permitted. 

POLICY ENV 18: Demolition of Listed Buildings 

The Council will not grant listed building consent for 

the demolition of a listed building 

unless it is demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt 

that every effort has been exerted by 

all concerned to find practical ways of retaining the 

building. A proposal for the demolition of a listed 

building will require to be justified in terms of: 

(a) The importance of the building’s architectural merit, 

its historic interest and its contribution to the local 

townscape/scene, 

(b) Its condition and the cost of restoring it in relation 

to the value of the restored building, taking into 

account the cost and value of a replacement building; 

(c) Alternative uses and the possibility of adapting the 

existing building to any new use or mix of uses. 

Applications for demolition of a listed building will 

require to be submitted in tandem with detailed 

applications for redevelopment of the site. 


Appendix 3: Principal buildings of the six Character Areas 

Area Category Date Architect 

1 Town Hall and Abbey 

Paisley Abbey A f1190, 13C, 15C, 1499, 1773, 

1862 James Salmon 

1898-07 David Anderson 

1912-17 Peter Macgregor Chalmers 

1919-28 Robert Lorimer 

Place of Paisley A post 1587, 1675-6, (1955-6 JS Maitland) 

Town Hall A 1879-82 WH Lynn 

Dunn Square B 1894 J Donald 

Central Methodist Hall, Gauze St B 1908 Watson & Salmond 

Former Arnotts store, Gauze St B 1925 J S Maitland 

Sculptures B 1874-1910 J G Mossman, W B Rhind, 

A M Shannon, D W Stevenson, etc. 

2 The Cross and the High Street 

Paisley Museum etc, High St A 1871,1882 J Honeyman 

1904 Honeyman, Keppie & Mackintosh 

1915 TG Abercrombie 

1933 Keppie & Henderson 

Liberal Club, 32 High St C(S) 1886 J Donald 

Coats Memorial Church A 1894 HJ Blanc 

TA Building, 76 High St B 1896 TG Abercrombie 

YMCA, 39 High St &5 New St B 1908 TG Abercrombie 

Paisley Centre, 23 High St B 1912 GA Boswell 

War memorial, the Cross A 1922 R Lorimer & A Meredith Williams, sculptor 

Burtons, 6-8 High St B 1929 H Wilson 

Plate 18: Dunn Square 

Plate 19: Museum, High Street 

3 Moss Street - County Place 

Gilmour St Station B 1840, 1883 

Post Office, former B 1893 WW Robertson 

1912 WT Oldrieve 

7 Gilmour St A c1910 J Craig Barr & H Cook 

Plate 20: Gilmour Street Station 


4 Oakshaw 

Oakshaw Trinity Church A 1754, 1770 John White 

Middle Church, former, Churchhill A 1779 S Henning 

Orr Sq Church, former B 1845 

John Nielson Institution A 1849 C Wilson 

Coats Observatory A 1884 J Honeyman 

St Johns Church/Wynd Centre B 1862 J Salmon 

5 Causeyside Street - Gordon Street 

Fire Station, former, Gordon Street B 1897 JW Moncur 

St Matthews Church, Gordon Street A 1907 WD McLennan 

Co-op, former,25-29 Causeyside St B 1907 RB Miller 

Russell Institute, Causeyside St A 1927 JS Maitland & A Dawson, sculptor 

Plate 21: John Neilson Institution, Oakshaw 

6 New Street - George Place 

Laigh Kirk/ Arts Centre, New Street B 1736 J Baird & J Hart 

St George’s Church/Gate, George Street B 1819 W Reid 

UWS, G Building, 47 George Street B 1898 TG Abercrombie 

Bull Inn, 7 New St A 1900 WD McLennan 

Total 31 (the total number of listed buildings in the extended conservation area will be 120). 

2 No. pre 18C, 5 No 1700-1840, 20 No 1840-1914, 4 No 1914-1939. 

14 No. Category A 

Plate 22: Russell Institute, Causeyside Street 

Plate 23: Laigh Kirk/Arts Centre, New Street 


Appendix 4: Listed buildings in the proposed extension area 

Area Category Date Architect 

Causeyside St 

43 and 1 Johnston Street B 1903 TG Abercrombie 

45-47 B 1903 TG Abercrombie 

49 C(S) early 20C 

51 (Corkers PH) B late 19C 

George Place 

5 B early 19C 

11-15 C(S) early 19C 

George Street 

6-8 B c1840 

10-12 B c1840 

17, New Jerusalem Church C(S) 

18 (St George’s Gate, formerly Church) B 1819 Wm Reid 

42 (Paisley University, G Building) B 1898 TG Abercrombie 

Plate 24: 42 George Street, UWS, G Building 

Gordon Street 

Fire Station, former B 1897 JW Moncur 

St Matthews Church including railings A 1907 WD McLennan 

New Street 

Mrs Archibald Coats Memorial Home, B 1900 TG Abercrombie 

20 B c 1900 

22 C(S) early 19C 

26, Beaconsfield House B c 1800 (1883 TG Abrcrombie) 

42 & part of 36 Causeyside St C(S) mid 18C 

Shuttle Street, 14 C(S) early 19C 

Plate 25: Former Fire Station, Gordon Street 

No. of Entries: 19 (1 A, 12 B, 6 C(S)) 

Illustration credits: Plates 1, 2, 3: David Rowan Collection. Plan2: National Library. Plan 3: British Library. Photography: Renfrewshire Council, Anne Dick.

Paisley Town Centre Conservation Area Character Appraisal

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